Adorable Murderbeasts (A Self Insert)
by DesertChocolate
Summary: When dropped into the Pokemon world with a Pokemon team, the age old question appears. What Type is Darkseid anyways? Or Batman for that matter.
1. Spandex Dilemma

Waking up in an unfamiliar place is always weird. Anyone who's ever been on a vacation for the first time knows that.

Not a lot of people wake up in a forest.

I blink, slowly, trying to get my bearings. I could hear the sounds of a city, maybe a long walk away. I felt the dirt scrunch as I slowly lifted my head off the floor. A small bit of spit drooled from my mouth, landing on my shirt before I could wipe it off.

I looked around. I was still tired, and unlike the movies it was taking me a while to get my bearings. I mean, I knew I was in a forest, but I didn't _know_ I was in a forest. When it registered, I found myself scrambling to my feet, trying not to throw up at the wave of dizziness that followed.

"What the fu-?" I stopped before cussing, long habit from religious upbringing stopping me through the word. I slowly rubbed my head, reaching to crack my back. My hand stopped at the feel of an orb at my belt.

Make that several.

Feeling at one of the small objects, my fingers traced a line carved along the surface, with a button that was in the center of the line. Curious, I pulled it off from where I could feel it was attached to my belt, then lifted it up for inspection.

Then my eyes bulged. Split into red and white halves with a thick black line separating them. A white button on the center. In a way, this little ball was one of the most iconic objects in the world. Hell, I'd even had a toy version as a kid.

I slowly, gently, placed it on the ground. Then I reached for my belt. One, two, three, four, five, plus the one I'd already pulled. Six balls, several different colors, but the same size.

Pokeballs.

"Oh no…" I shook my head. "What the fresh hell is this!?" I looked around, trying to hide my panic. I'd been kidnapped. Right? I'd been kidnapped by a guy with a sick sense of humor. Hell, this was just one obsession he could have been messing with me for. If he'd made another choice I could be holding a Lantern Ring, an N7 Lancer, a Chainsword, or a sandvwich.

I found myself reaching for the balls, suddenly a bit calmer. Yeah, that made sense. I was being messed with. These balls, though obviously made of heavy metal, were fake.

I held back disappointment at the thought.

With my breathing steady, I looked out into the distance, where I could see a city. I rubbed at my face, taking a bit of relief in feeling my familiar beard against my hand. Whoever had kidnapped me, at least they let me keep that.

"Okay… short term goal. Get out of the forest." I nodded, taking my first steps forward as I began to clasp the Poke'balls back to my belt. I adjusted the hat on my head as well, ignoring the fact I did not recognize either the clothes I was wearing or the bag I reflexively lifted to my shoulder.

Whatever was happening could wait until I got to the city.

 **PYJ**

I stopped, far back from the sign in the distance. Others were walking on the sidewalk, and simply drifted around me. I was standing there for a while. Just… reading.

The signs words were simple. Nothing complex.

 ** _Welcome to Metropolis!_**

Underneath that, with a picture of a man in blue tight and red cape were more words.

 ** _Home of Superman!_**

"…Oh son of a…" For a moment, my religious upbringing kicked in again. The I realized the situation once more. "Son of a bitch! I've gone crazy!"

"I'll say." A business man mumbled as he walked past me.

"Fuck you too you motherfucking pansy ass, bitch ass, piece of shit! Why don't jack off with a chainsaw in your ass!" I yelled at him, shaking in horror as I yelled.

I winced when I noted people around me staring, then quickly moved on, walking as fast as I could.

I immediately felt like rationalizing. I felt like taking a deep breath and telling myself to just calm down and think things through. After all, Superman is a popular figure. There had to be at least one city actually named Metropolis in real life, and of course they'd make a Superman reference.

"Fudge that." My filter was back on, and I grabbed the brim of my hat. "I know how to check this."

Talking to yourself. First sign of insanity. Then again, maybe for me it was the balls that seemed to get heavier with every fear in my mind.

I steeled myself, then walked deep into the city.

Didn't take long. Even though it was a big city, Metropolis was actually pretty clear on the sidewalks. Maybe it was early or something. It was actually a nice place. Impressive actually. Of course, anyone who knows about Metropolis knows the most impressive sight there.

I found myself taking a picture of some nice Japanese tourists. I tried to give them a nice smile, even as my stomach dropped. I got low, to get the building behind them in the shot.

"Smile!"

I took the picture, then lowered the camera to stare at the image briefly. A smiling group of Japanese people, dressed in nice clothes and happily enjoying their day. And behind them, far up in the sky, so high it was barely visible, was a round globe on top of a building with the words, Daily Planet.

I handed the tourists the camera, using what little Japanese I knew to wish them a nice day. They smiled at me, walking off to me stare up at the building.

Damn. Damn, damn, damn.

I knew right then what was going on. I had thought I was crazy, but dealing with things from that perspective was just… well, crazy. My mind, though terrified, and really excited, felt clear. I still had my body, paunch and all. And besides that, things were just too randomized.

We don't realize it, but when we watch a movie that takes place in a setting with a lot of people, a lot of work has to go into making it feel natural. Extras have to be hired and told what to do in the backgrounds, little things that make a setting feel more real. And even then, it isn't perfect. People in real life drop things, cuss, laugh, bump into each other, argue.

That's what was happening around me. Real life, every few seconds. These weren't background sounds in a video game, these were people with homes and lives to go to.

Okay. So. Let's work from this platform. Not crazy. I'm in Metropolis, in the DC Comics. And I have Pokeballs on my waist…

Damn, still have no idea what to do with this.

At that moment, the spacebattler in me felt jealous of Zoat and WhiteEyes. They'd found themselves in space, with a Lantern Ring to show them the way. Then again, they hadn't really gone to another world, they weren't real-

Okay, not going down that road. Because if they aren't real, I'm not real, and someone is writing my words. Probably me. Goddamnit me, couldn't you, I mean I, have given myself something a bit more obvious a power then Pokeballs? Like a superfit body rather than the paunch I'd had for years?

"Then again…" I looked down at my waist, thinking.

Pokeballs. With Pokémon possibly inside them.

A ridiculous thought. One I was having while standing at the foot of the Daily Planet.

I hefted the bag on my shoulder, the one I hadn't looked into yet, thinking. As I did, I walked by a window, only to stop and look at myself.

Average height. I had gained some weight recently, but the marks of long hours wrestling and boxing had left their marks in some scars on my knuckles and muscles on my arms. My curly black hair popped out from a dark grey hat. I pulled at the black t-shirt I was wearing, noting the small Pokeball on the right breast. Then my jeans, pretty standard fare.

I looked like me. I took comfort in that. Maybe I wasn't some gorgeous supermodel, but I had my body, and I had long since learned how to throw a punch. Thank god.

Pokémon are some of the most dangerous being in fiction. In their attempts to create a cutesy world with cool monsters, Game Freak instead had created a death world, where humanity had been forced to work with weaker Pokémon to combat beings far and above their power.

And I had six balls at my waist, a full team. Even a baby Pokémon is nothing to sneeze at. This of course, depended on if there were even Pokémon in the balls at all.

"…short term goal. Find a place to check what's in these balls in private." I looked up at the building, thinking the next part to myself to avoid superhuman ears. 'Long term goal, get Superman's autograph.'

That of course, is when a nearby ringing, loud as heck and echoing in the air, turned on. I jumped with everyone else in the area, spinning to try and see what the problem was. Then I saw people running. And heard gunshots, an easy sound to recognize after being raised in the dark parts of Oakland and San Jose.

"Oh no. Don't tell me." In complete opposition to my natural instinct, I ran towards the alarms, the bag and balls bouncing as I did.

I found the commotion easily. A bank, a big one with marble columns. People were running away, clearly terrified.

"You have to be kidding!" I grabbed at my hat, feeling more exasperated by the second. "In Superman's hometown! Who is dumb enough to do this?"

"I know right?" Some hot dog vendor said nearby, idly adjusting his wares. "Granted, the big man apparently has something going on in Fiji. I doubt it will be enough for these guys to get away, but as it is."

I stared at the old man, a combination of horror and annoyance in me. He smiled.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Here," He put a hot dog on a bun and drizzled some ketchup on it, handing it to me. "Just sit back and enjoy the show kid. It's on the house."

I stared at the hot dog, idly wondering if it was kosher. Behind me, another gunshot sounded.

Whoever dropped me here is an asshole. A huge dick. It ain't necessary. I don't care what kind of tools you give me, I'm a lazy asshole who has never held a job for more than six months. I'm not the guy you trust with this shit.

But here I was, turning towards the bank and walking towards it, shoving the hot dog into my mouth as I went.

"H-Hey, kid! Come back, where are you going!?" The hot dog vendor yelled.

"To do something stupid!" I yelled back. As I did, I grabbed two of the balls on my belt. Gunshots. So bullets. I needed a tank. Someone who could handle the bullets. And from my instincts told me, I had two.

I was running now, the two balls in my hands. A click of the button and they expanded. I kicked the door, throwing the first ball as I did.

Four gunmen, fifteen hostages. The gunmen spun, aiming at me. The pokeballs landed on the ground, and bright red lights came from them as they opened.

Two beings came from the lights. Both were massive. One stood on four legs, its body slung low. The other was a biped, almost as tall as me.

As the bullet bounced off them with little effect, I found myself, for the first time since waking up, feeling pretty gosh-darned good about life.

 **PYJ**

"What the hell are those things?" One of the gunmen said, shocked.

I was a bit shocked myself, but I focused on the figures. The first I focused on was the biped. He was… okay, I can't keep calling him a biped.

I am a nerd. That's a fact. And like any nerd, there are my favorites in every fictional universe. And the biped had become one of my favorite Pokémon from the moment I'd found out about it, so much so that my first competitive team was built around it.

Chesnaught, the Spiny Armor Pokémon. He stood a bit shorter than me, but his body was wide. Its back was covered in a stiff, cloak like armor, cream white like most of its body, and trimmed with red and green bands. Four spines jutted from the cloak, with two more at the shoulders. The rest of its body shared the same color scheme as the cloak, with green armor covering his arms. He curled his three fingered as he came into being, his ursine face gritted in determination that shouldn't have been possible for an animal.

The other Pokémon was just as familiar. Heatran, the Lava Dome. Reddish-brown, with orange and gray spots across her body, her most prominent traits were the metal protrusions and armor across her body, especially a massive mask that had her bright orange eyes burning fiercely.

By the way, I did not see all these details in the seconds of time after they appeared. I didn't even know Chesnaught was male, and Heatran was female. Later study let me figure out all the details.

My exact thought process actually went, _'_ _Oh cool, I have Pokémon!'_ Followed by, _'_ _This can only end in pain.'_ Finally, _'_ _Guns shooting!'_

The last thought coincided with me ducking behind Chesnaught, trying to hold my bladder as the echoing boom of gunshots filled my ears, people screaming in the background. As the sounds combined, I prayed silently.

Then the bullets stopped. I peeked, eyes widening at the sight before me. They were reloading their guns.

I looked at Chesnaught. The bearlike Pokemon looked back at me, then grinned. A very impish grin at that.

Not a scratch.

I looked at Heatran, who simply waited, watching the gunmen, a few dents on her surface, but nothing else.

Then I realized what had happened.

Pokemon in the games have two passive things that can transform how they respond to battle. Their typing, and their abilities. Most pokemon can have a hidden ability, one that can only be found in rare individuals.

Chesnaught hidden ability is Bulletproof. As in completely. Bombs, bullets, they had no hold on a Pokemon with that ability.

Heatran was a Fire/Steel Pokemon. A Pokemon who was capable of taking attacks like small pieces of metal like nothing.

Both of them could no-sell bullets. My superpowered murder beasts can no-sell bullets.

"Oh heck yeah!" I snapped a hand out. "Heatran, get the ones on the left! Use-" A move shone brightly in my mind. "Hidden Power, Ice!"

The Lave Dome Pokemon let out a roar that sounded like metal cracking and melting with blast of power, then released a blast of power from its body. It arced out, slamming into a gunman and sending him spinning to slam into a glass panel.

"Chesnaught, Drain Punch!"

He rushed forward, massive bulk moving far faster than anyone would expect, and slammed an enormous fist into another man, who tried to run before he went flying with the sound of bones breaking. At the same time, a rush of red light went from the man to Chesnaught, who smiled in pleasure at the rush of energy.

The other two gun had reloaded, and seeing that their shots didn't work on my Pokemon, focused on the squishy human controlling them. I ducked behind Heatran, listening as the men backed off while trying to get a shot at me.

'Shit. Do I wait my turn?" My thoughts immediately slapped themselves as hard as they could. 'The fuck are you thinking!?'

"Heatran, Earth Power! Chesnaught, Leech Seed!"

The pair roared, Heatran that strange metal crunch, and Chesnaught releasing a boom of noise that would have left a polar bear feeling emasculated.

Chesnaught raised his right arm, and small bumps sprouted on the armor there, shooting out and sticking to the skin of a gunmen who was running towards the hostages. The green seeds sprouted in seconds, surrounding the man in vines and leaves that left him unharmed, but covered in plants.

My other Pokémon was more violent. She lifted herself on her front legs, roaring in a fiery rage, then slammed her feet onto the ground. The ground the other gunmen erupted in a yellow light, shattering the marble floor and sending him flying with a Wilheim scream.

"Huh, they really do that." I found myself musing.

"Don't move!" The three of us turned in unison. The final gunmen stared at us with frantic eyes through his ski mask, holding a terrified woman to him with an arm around her neck and a gun to her head. He spat out a leaf from his mouth, still wrapped in the Leech Seeds. "Don't you move! I'll blow her head off!"

"O-Okay! Okay man, just calm down bro!" I cried out, holding my hands out as I tried not to vomit in fear. I could taste a bit of stomach acid shot into my mouth, but I kept my cool as best I could.

"I mean it asshole! I'll kill the bitch!" He pressed the gun to the blondes temple, blinking rapidly as he did.

"Okay man, I got it. Just stay cool." I looked at the woman, who was wearing a pair of jeans and a Flash t-shirt. "You'll be okay. Just take a breath."

She nodded frantically, tears pouring from her blue eyes.

Seeing my placidness, the gunman grinned. "Okay. Just do what I say man. You… you need too…" His blinking sped up further. He shook his head, confused.

"Hey, you all right man?" I tried to hide a grin. Then I leaped behind my Pokémon when he pointed his gun at me.

"Shut up! I'm fine! Just… tired."

He fell, the Leech Seeds fading away as they pulled out the last of his energy. I ran over, checking his pulse as the blonde woman fell to the ground in tears. Alive.

I checked the woman next, who was in a daze, then spoke to the shellshocked hostages. "Get outside, and stay together! Go!"

They didn't need to be told twice. One man, a security guard with a bullet in his arm, took the blonde from me with a respectful nod, then leaned her against them as they left. I went outside next, followed by the Pokémon. I stared out at the crowd outside, who stared at me in shock.

Then I turned to Chesnaught and Heatran, who looked at me with confused eyes. "We'll talk later. But I want to be out of here soon. Come on."

Moving on instinct, I put them back in their balls, and reached in my bag. I blinked, then pulled out a flute.

"… _Now_ I find this thing?" I ignored the reporters coming towards me, especially the black haired woman with purple eyes who was followed by a redhead kid. Instead, I blew into it.

A trilling sound filled the air. The crowd stopped, confused at my actions. Then the sound repeated. This time, from the distance. I stepped back, waiting with one eye closed as I tried to prepare for what was coming.

A red object flew towards me at extreme speed. I leaped, letting it fly beneath me, then landing on it's back. It let out a delighted trill as it looped around, then took off in a burst of speed.

As Latias, the Eon Pokemon, flew with me on her back, something in my bag glowed. I took it out, blinking at the familiar object. A silver bracelet, with a multicolored gem in the center, and carvings on the surface.

The red dragon under me trilled in sheer joy as the gem on the bracelet glowed fiercely, then we were surrounded in light and color. When it disappeared, Latias was purple, her body shaped like a jetplane and power roaring from her like a tidal wave from a faucet. She took off like a bullet, and I was left to hang on as I screamed in horror and tried to keep from hurling on the happily trilling Pokemon.

That was my first day. It did not bode well for whatever came next.

 **PYG**  
 **Author's Note: Made for Spacebattles**


	2. Making Friends

**Author's Note: To any people who wanted classic Pokemon, I promise they'll show up. But for now, certain themes I want to explore depend on what I have chosen. I ask only for patience. Soon you'll get a Mega Charizard soaring in the skies of Apokolips as it destroys Parademons. But that's a later problem.**

 **PYJ**  
It was midway through the flight that I realized two things.

First, as fast as Latias is, there is no way we could escape Superman if he decided to investigate us. Faster than a Jetplane is not faster than the speed of light, which many versions of Supes can outrun.

Second, Latias was very quickly acting strange. Her former happy eyes were shifting in confusion. She was looking at the land below us as we flew out of Metropolis, looking at the unfamiliar land in confusion.

Here's the thing. Pokemon are sentient. Let me say that again, in case the idea hasn't produced the right amount of realization.

Pokemon are sentient.

That realization filled me as Latias stopped above farmland looking around.

Where am I?

I should mention for those who don't know that Latias is one of the few Dragon/Psychic types. One of two I think, the other being her brother. So, thought-speak. And mind-reading.

"…Aw crap." I said slowly.

Master? She looked at me, her adorable face a combination of fear and confusion as her voice echoed in my mind. Is that really you? What's that funny stuff on your face? You got a beard?

I rubbed at my face, realizing few characters in Pokemon had my luxurious beard. Let alone the kids you use as avatars in every game.

"Listen, this is all a long story. One I know the bare amount of. Can we land, so we can talk?"

From the look of wonder in her eyes, I could tell some of my thoughts had gotten to her. Still, she nodded, aiming for a bit of open land. She landed with ease, changing back into her normal form with a loud 'whoosh' of power.

I landed on my feet, only to nearly fall as my knees refused to work briefly. Latias kept back as I tried to figure out how legs worked, to focused on looking around. We stood in a small grove of trees, a large cornfield nearby with a farmhouse in the distance. I tried not to think about that house, of who, in this universe, could be living inside-

Who are the Kents?

I sighed, turning to look at Latias. She looked back at me, adorable as all get out. Seriously, Smaug would be ashamed to be related to such a cutie.

She was bird-like in a lot of ways, with an aerodynamic body and smooth feathers. Her lower half was red, with wings shaped like a jet planes and fin-like feet she used as rudders, though she floated in front of me on her own psychic power. Most of her upper half was white, with a blue triangle on her chest, triangular ears, and a red face that had a white triangle in the center.

Overall, she looked like if a fighter jet came to life and became the most adorable being in the universe.

I felt a warm wave of affection, and realized my thought had broadcasted. She smiled happily, then looked confused again.

Where are we master?

"Boy, is that hard to answer." I rubbed my head, throwing my backpack on the ground and thinking. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Flying! We were going to Mossdeep! She trilled her name happily. It was fun.

Huh. That was where I was going when I last played my 3DS. I had to pick something up from the waters neaby or something. A Pokemon maybe? So… this really was _my_ Latias? As in the one on my game, nothing but bits of code, and now a full fledged organic being?

Mugyuu, your thoughts are funny Master. She came closer and stroked her head against me. She was warm, and her skin was smooth. I hugged her, trying to think, and she trilled her name as she leaned on me.

"This is too much." I sighed. "I need to plan. What would Batman do?"

Hide the Pokeballs away, and never use them even if they could prove amazingly useful in the future. Seriously, dude had a horde of futuristic weaponry he held back on, including Nth metal. Might be exaggerating, but something told me my planning would never be quite matched up with Batman's.

"Okay, what would Wonder Woman do?"

There we go. My favorite superhero, bar none. Kind, intelligent, powerful, and willing to be ruthless when it required. The Princess of Truth, a title that she lived and breathed, and one that made me, a constant liar, admire her that much more.

So what would she do?

Well for one, she wasn't real, same as Pokémon like the Latias in my arms, so-

My mistake was apparent immediately. But in my defense, I'd rarely dealt with the idea of _thinking_ to loudly.

What!? Latias pulled away from me, her arm smacking into me as she did. The pain that followed that reminded me just how much stronger Pokémon are than humans. I'm not real? What does that mean!? Why are you thinking that!? What happened?

The pain in those eyes of hers. If I didn't make it clear, here it is again. Pokemon are sentient. All of them. With all the pain, love, and sheer danger that comes with being that sentient.

And now, I had one in my head, her mind projecting the real pain in her mind, the sadness as she felt the truth of my words. She knew that I, deep inside, had proof she was not real. That she didn't exist.

I had to do something. So I turned on the nerd. The part of me that's constantly analyzing situations, the part that enters a hardware store for something and immediately starts planning for the zombie apocalypse.

"Okay…" I said slowly as her bright yellow eyes stared at me, horror and confusion in them as they watered. "Listen. I thought you weren't real once. It seemed like the truth. But here you are. As real as I am."

And oh god, that made me realize I might not be real either. Which had her eyes widen once more as she read the thought.

Different tack. Am I real. Yes. I can feel the wind, the dirt on my cheek, the acid from nearly throwing up. I'm real. So this is a simple application of Multiverse theory.

I was still panicking a bit as I faced the superpowered being before me, but I found myself calming as I felt a hint of curiosity in her mind behind the fear. I focused on broadcasting my thoughts to her. Then I did the hardest thing any person in the modern age can try.

I started thinking.

Right, the Multiverse. In my own history, Pokemon is fictional. Video games, books, movies. But so were dozens of things. Things that reflected our own. The Multiverse was the answer. An infinite universe, made by every choice, every possible permutation of the universe. The slightest shift in an atom could lead to two entirely different universes.

So, with Latias before me, and the DC universe surrounding me, this was simple to figure out. Pokemon are real. Someone had dropped me here, with some of my favorite Pokemon, and gave me nothing more than that.

But this was real. Even if someone was writing this down on a page right now, it was real. This universe, and my Pokemon, are real. The DC Universe was real. The Multiverse, infinite in nature, allowed us to exist in this universe together.

We are real. And the thought rang in my head, clear as a bell.

As Latias calmed, still confused, but reassured by how certain I was, I nodded. This was the situation. And it was time to deal.

"You okay?" I asked her softly.

She nodded. Yes master. I'm still confused. Did you tell Giratina and Palkia to bring us here?

Well that was interesting. Both as a theory, and proof of Latias' intelligence in bringing that theory up. No animal could think that way.

But…

"No. I can't see any reason why I would decide to have them move us. Even if they did, I don't know why they'd bring us here." I frowned. "How did you get here? The Eon Flute is supposed to signal you from wherever you are to me."

I… She frowned. I don't know. I was flying with my brother. And then you called me.

Well shit. How the hell does that work. In the game Alpha Sapphire, you gain access to the Eon Flute, which gives you the ability to summon Latias to give you a free flight. She doesn't even need to be in your party.

Apparently, it still worked, but instead it brought her to Metropolis. And I had no proof she would be sent back to her home universe. Until I figured out if she would be safe, in a world with radar and spaceships, I'd be keeping her nearby.

"Okay," I say that word a lot. "I still have questions. Like how Chesnaught, Heatran, and you all followed my orders. I mean, if I have a Charizard on my belt, will it listen, or will I end up needing to do an Ash-saving-from-the-ice thing?"

She blinked, expressive eyes thoughtful. Do you have your badges? Maybe that's why they listened.

Now I blinked. Huh. "Good idea."

I walked over to the bag, followed by the hovering dragon. She looked over my shoulder as I opened it. I blinked at the sight before me.

"Huh. Pretty full for such a small bag." Then again, the games always had you carrying a hell of a lot more than most bags. Hammerspace maybe, like the Pokeballs? As Latias once more let out a 'Mugyuu' at my thoughts, I began taking the objects out one by one.

Various medicines, berries, and foods went into one pile. A foldaway bike and other larger objects in another, including a spacesuit of all things. The various things I would give to my Pokemon went in yet another pile, like the TM and HM disks. And finally, the Megastones, bright and shining, went in a final spot.

With the brief organization done, I lifted up a small case, opening it under Latias' watchful gaze. Inside were sixteen badges.

"Sixteen?" I looked up at Latias. "That's too many. I should have eight at most, from Hoenn."

To my surprise, she shook her head. "Remember master? You got some from Kalos, before you met me and the others."

Now that was interesting. Apparently my playing the two more recent games had become a shared history for Latias' perception of me. Why not all the others though? I'd played nearly every Pokemon game over the years. Why just the most recent two? (I had a moment of fantasizing being Red, AKA the OG badass trainer.)

I looked over myself. Come to think of it, I wasn't dressed like the Alpha Sapphire protagonist either. I had normal clothes, a shirt, jeans, and sneakers, with a hat to go with them, none of them in the design that character is known for.

More mysteries I guess.

"Okay. One more thing I guess." I reached for my belt, and before I could think too hard about it, threw out a Pokeball.

Out came Chesnaught. The Grass/Fighting type blinked in the light, then yawned, digging his feet in the dirt beneath him. Then he looked at me and Latias, a smile on his face.

"Chesnaught."

Huh. So they do just say their species name. That's going to frustrate some biologists, since the ability to articulate their own name should mean they can say other things. Though considering some Pokemon, that might be just the start of their frustrating scientists...

Latias trilled happily, flying over to circle Chesnaught. He laughed, a rough roar of sound, as she circled. At the edge of my mind, I could feel her telling him about what had happened, like hearing a whispered conversation. I waited nervously, hoping he didn't hear something he didn't like.

I don't care who you are, a bear with superpowers that you feel might attack you is a terrifying prospect to face.

When Latias stopped, Chesnaught looked at me, then shrugged.

"Chesnaught, Ches, Ches." He waved his hand around, then shrugged. "Cheeeeeesnaught."

Apparently we were cool. How anticlimactic.

Of course, then he lifted up the food he'd somehow stolen and started scarfing it down.

"Wait, how the hell?" He'd been a full six feet away from that food. How? Chesnaught only gave me a wide, mischevious grin before eating some more.

With Chesnaught eating and peaceful, I opened the next ball, which was a Master Ball interestingly enough. Heatran came out, as big as ever, and radiating warmth.

Her reaction was interesting. Unlike Chesnaught's relaxed confidence, she looked around timidly. When she saw me, she seemed to brighten, running over to press her head to my leg in a enthusiastic bump. Considering her head was a few dozen pounds of solid metal, that hurt quite a bit, but I endured. Only cried a little bit.

She pressed close to me, unused to the smells and sights around her, as Latias did the breakdown. The dragon type seemed to have a good relationship with all my Pokemon actually. Well, the two I'd shown.

So, next one. This ball was green and black in a camouflage pattern. When I threw it and saw the shape that appeared, I wondered briefly if I had a pink blob on my team. Then it turned. A Chansey. AKA a Pokemon who was basically a nurse, healing the sick and injured. And also secretly a pretty badass creature. She was tiny, pink in color with three hair-like growths on the sides of its head, tipped with a darker shade of pink. On the center of its belly was a dark pink pouch that contained a single white egg. Its arms were stubby, and she stretched them out as she yawned. She was cute, but there was a strange maturity about her. Which made sense, considering her natural occupation. I've never met a nurse who hadn't seen as much pain as some Vietnam Vets.

She looked at me as Heatran peaked out from behind my leg shyly. Chansey looked me over, then smiled peacefully, not saying a word in favor over of walking over to me and sitting down. Chesnaught looked at her for a moment, then his eyes widened fearfully. Chansey noticed, and only gave the bearlike Pokemon a smirk, which made him look away.

Okay, what the hell? My Pokemon have _beef_ with each other? They'd been data a day ago, and now Chansey and Chesnaught have history? This is just-

Nope. Focus. I need to know what team I have, so I can be able to plan. So far, I had a good team. Discounting Latias, whose role, though critical, was not technically a combat based one, so far my team had Chesnaught as a tank, Heatran as my long range attacker, and Chansey as a healer/defender. At least, those were their roles in the game. In fact, I was pretty sure of what my team was now. I'd only dipped my toes into the whole competitive fighting thing, but my first team looked very similar to this.

Three more left. The next ball was a standard pokeball. Unleashing brought exactly what I expected. A Slowbro. He was mostly pink, a darker shade than Chansey, except for his belly and mouth, which were a tan color. He stood on both legs, had eyes that looked at us with a lazy kind of boredom, and when he yawned I could see teeth that reminded me of the enormous fangs hippos are famous for. And of course, he had a Shellder on his tail, with a gray spiraled shell, and fangs digging into the tail.

He surprised me slightly by ignoring Latias, who tried to explain things. Instead he went to sleep. Well, that was anti-climactic. Still, his appearance was the final proof that the team on my belt was absolutely my first competition team.

So the final two balls on my waist scared the shit out of me. Because if they were what I was thinking…

"Chesnaught." He looked up at me from where he'd been contemplating something. "Be ready. If this next one attacks… I'm trusting you here, okay?"

Master? Latias said, sounding concerned. Chesnaught looked startled, but nodded firmly. Apparently while he was a bit of a prankster, he had my loyalty.

My completely undeserved loyalty. Guilt filled me briefly, but I forced myself back into the game. I reached for my belt. Heatran, feeling the tension, nudged closer to me, her shyness in full force as the warmth in her body got stronger. Latias floated above me, and Chansey took a position next to Chesnaught, whatever animosity between them gone as they tensed at the throw of my Pokeball. Even Slowbro crooked an eye up from where he was sleeping, one of the Mega Stones near my bag glowing ominously as he did.

We all felt like fools when Jirachi appeared.

It was tiny, even shorter than Chansey by a full foot. It had a white body, and short stubby limbs, with small flaps on its arms. A small seam on its belly hid its third eye, which was somehow adorable in a freaky way, while two more eyes were closed on its face. On its head was a 'hat', yellow with blue flaps attached to the triangular things points. And finally, two streamers.

Seriously, Pokemon designs had started getting way too complicated as time went on. What happened to just drawing a turtle with cannons and knowing you'd made something cool? So many details on Jirachi, man.

Jirachi snored as it floated there. Latias flew over to it, nudging it curiously as Chesnaught gave me a wide grin, apparently amused at how worried I'd been. I looked at him, frowning angrily.

"Oh what are you so smug about?"

"Chesnaught."

"Okay, how the heck did you fit that much sarcasm into your freaking name?"

"Ches."

I snorted. "Yeah right, like you ever have."

Jirachi woke up suddenly, looked around with big black eyes.

Hm? A high, childlike voice echoed in my, and our, minds.

Uh oh.

Oh, oh my! This place is new! I like this place, its so pretty, and you think it's the Kent farm, what is a Kent, can we eat with them, who is Martha, why do they say she makes nice pies, what are pies, and can we eat, hi Heatran, hi Chesnaught, hi Chansey, hi Latias, hi fat Master, hi tree, oh, trees don't talk, lets play! Who is Ray Naerveaz?

And so on. Damn, talk about a sugar rush. And fat? What the hell? I get a paunch and suddenly I'm fat. Dammit, I'm going to start working out. Get on the Bruce Wayne diet.

The tiny legendary was reading my mind as she was talking, having an entire conversation with all of us based entirely on our reactions to her speech. I projected a thought, trying to keep her from running away. Then, feeling Chesnaught's smug eyes on me, threw out the final ball.

Mistake.

That was the only thing to come to mind. I had made a mistake. When the ball came open, and a red light dumped the creature within on the ground, a storm cloud gathered in the skies above. I felt my stomach fall, and my mouth go dry as thunder began to boom.

Yellow feathers, spiky all over, with a black plumage beneath. A long thin beak. A bird. A bird whose eyes opened, and whose body began to gather electricity to itself. It wasn't tall. It didn't need to be. It carried a majesty of its own.

Zapdos. One of the Legendary Birds. A Pokemon so powerful it could turn lakes to steam and power cities for days. It wasn't legendary in the way Jirachi and Latias were. Their legends were sweet and caring, reminding us of the good in the world, of the wishes and dreams to be.

Zapdos is legendary in the way a war is. The anger, the destruction, the sheer uncaring for what a mortal being thought of it. Is Everest legendary for its majesty, and the sheer willpower needed to crest it, or for it's kindness? It looked at me, eyes judging, trying to gauge me as I held my breath, and the storm-clouds above continued to boom, its feathers alight with enough electricity to destroy a mountain. The yellow bolts bounced around it as it's eyes glared, the static making the hair on my arms raise and turning the grass beneath it to ash.

The other Pokemon, just as startled by the Electric Pokemon's entrance, gathered near me, tensing. Zapdos ignored them. They were beneath it's grand power. Only I held its attention. The air crackled. Even Jirachi was silent, staring between me and Zapdos with wide eyes.

Zapdos leaned in. I felt fear deep inside me.

'No. Stop. Think. What do we say to the Legendaries. Not today.'

I held in a giggle at the misappropriated quote. That bit of mirth stabilized me.

Latias. Connect me to him. Now.

The dragon did it, trusting my judgement despite how little I felt I deserved that faith. Zapdos' mind was nothing like Latias'. Latias had a clear mind, joyful and happy, always looking for the next adventure. There was power, sure, but a bright and clear sense of it, of the happiness that life brings.

Zapdos felt like the sky, its thoughts so huge and encompassing I felt like I'd be swallowed by it. Unlike Latias, it thought not in words, but in concepts, in ideas and instincts. Sentient, yes. But a part of nature all the same. And as I connected, I almost drowned in the sheer power of that ancient mind.

But for all my weaknesses, I am human. And no creature created from blood and flesh can match us in the brains. Intelligence, willpower, sure. But sheer imagination? We are the kings of that realm.

I showed Zapdos. I showed that impossible electric creature just what we were up against. Every memory I had of the DC Universe. The simple beings, the intelligent beings, the brutish ones. The Lex Luthors, the Gorilla Grodds. Then I went deeper. Apokolips, Oa, the universe as I could remember it. The galaxy of darkness and light in one, echoing through the stars and seeing planets as nothing but pieces on a board.

And finally, I thought of _them._ The worst of this universe. A monster of misshapen muscle and spiky bones, Doomday, who had killed even the greatest of all heroes. A clown, seemingly a normal man, the avatar of chaos, horrific in his insanity and willingness to massacre for the sheer _joy_ of it.

One last image. I could feel Zapdos staring at me, its enormous mind shaking under my assault. So I struck once more.

A man. Tall, muscular. Grey skin, a face like shattered granite rock. And within that face, red eyes blazed. There were no words for those eyes. No words for the horror of the mind in control of that power. He was fire, and blood, and hatred deeper than the world. In his quest for conquest, even the greatest heroes of the cosmos and the worst monsters of hell were pawns in a grand mission for _his_ wishes. He was coming. I had no doubt of that. And when he came, he would bring us all to our knees if we didn't fight back.

I sent a message to Zapdos, as it listened to my mind. It wasn't in words, but the most basic emotions I could project.

This world is enough to destroy us. We are strong. But they, are something beyond that. But not if we work together.

The message I got in response was not in words, but in concepts. It was slow, ponderous. The sky will take its time to decide if lightning strikes or not.

I told the thunder to join me. And the thunder spoke back.

I found myself with a full Pokemon team.

 **PYJ**

"Now what the heck do we do?" I asked myself, rummagin in my back as my Pokemon to their time to take stock of the world they'd found themselves in.

Zapdos was standing nearby, separate from the others, but still a part of the group. It was calm now, and the storm clouds above had disappeared. The others were relaxing, though Jirachi still gave Zapdos nervous looks every once in a while. I think we all did really.

I checked over my badges again, and felt another rush of guilt. These weren't mine, not really. I'd gotten them from the safety of a video game screen, or so I was guessing. My Pokemon had faith in me, undeserved faith gained from battles I'd pushed them through without having to take the pains myself.

As much as the thought pulled guilt from my core to light, I had work to do. Because of all the toys in that bag, one had escaped me.

I could not find a damn Pokedex.

Like, are you serious? The number one tool of a real trainer, the thing that turned them from simple fighters to true explorers, allowing them to study and refine their knowledge until they became the terrors of their worlds. One of the most advanced computers in fictional history. And despite all my rummaging, I could not find it.

What. The hell.

I did find something else.

"Oh you must be kidding." I lifted the jacket in my hands, holding it out for inspection. The contest outfit. AKA, the outfit from the games that is worn whenever one enters a Pokemon Contest. It was gaudy as hell. Red with black outlines, and a big shoulder feather, with jewel things on the lapel. "Wow. This is just… wow."

I put it down, then looked at the skies. We'd been sitting there for a while now, and my Pokemon were getting antsy. I'd thought I wouldn't have to wait long. Hell, even before Zapdos brought the thunderclouds, I should have attracted his attention-

Then I saw it. A dot in the sky, coming towards us at a careful speed. I rose up, attracting the attention of my Pokemon.

Master? Latias asked, Jirachi floating in next to her. Heatran nudged my leg, her warmth making me smile.

"It's all right. Just… stay cool, okay?" I sighed, trying to stay calm. "Hopefully this is one of the good guys. Just in case, Chesnaught, be ready to intercept an attack. Zapdos, Latias, take to the skies and keep them from flying away. Otherwise, just stay calm."

The dot came closer, obviously taking pains to be easy to see. I noted the black suit, and realized this wasn't Superman like I'd expected. Unless it was a darker version. Still, I waited. Even if it wasn't him, the dot was taking pains to be obvious about it's approach. If I waited, maybe made contact with someone, I could try and explain things. And if worse came to worse...

My Pokemon can turn a city block into a warzone. That gave us a shot.

Then Latias, Slowbro, and Jirachi jumped.

W-Wow. Latias said in awe.

Hes… big? Jirachi seemed both confused, and just as awed as Latias.

Slowbro didn't move, he only seemed to focus on the now man-shaped figure flying towards us. The Shellder on his tail had gone stiff, eyes looking the same direction.

"Uh, guys? Are you okay? Whats… oh." My voice was weak as I realized what was going on. "Right. Psychic-type."

The figure landed before us. He was tall, broad-shouldered. He wore black spandex, with a long blue cape stretching behind him. On anyone else, it would have looked crazy, but he seemed a king to me.

His green skin somehow helped.

"Hello." He said with a gentle smile, his red eyes crinkling calmly as he looked us over. "Quite the group you have here."

I stared at him, a bit overwhelmed.

J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, my own personal Pokemon team, and a whole world spread before me.

Still the first day by the way.

 **PYJ**

 **Author's Note: Made for SpaceBattles**


	3. Truth Untold

**Author's Note: Tried to put more focus on the DC stuff. And hopefully the interaction between the PKMNTrainer and the DC characters was realistic enough.**

 **I also made sure to make some mistakes. Like hell I'm making myself into a Mary Sue. Not again!**

 **Jokes aside, I'm hoping you enjoy this chapter. It's more setup, but necessary though.**

 **PYJ**

The Martian Manhunter was standing in front of me, smiling calmly as his cape gently fluttered behind him.

Like, wow man. Wow. I don't mean to sound like a surfer, but wow. _The_ Martian Manhunter. This man was one of the greatest heroes in the universe. Someone who, in the comics, had been a member of nearly every single Justice League team, going back decades. He had fought things and beings that see planets as snacks, and come out the other side with a victory and a smile.

Awesome.

I apparently didn't keep my inner fanboy under control, since Latias seemed to be giggling in my thoughts. As I looked around, Jirachi was looking at me with a wide grin, while Slowbro gave me a smirk. Looking back at J'onn, I saw him trying to hide a smile of his own. As in every being capable of reading my mind, who now knew what a nerd I was.

Damn, I hoped I didn't have the telepathic motormouth thing Edge from the fanfic 'A Subtle Knife' had.

"Uh, it's nice to meet you sir." I said, trying to calm down. "I'm a big fan, as you could tell."

"Thank you." He said graciously. "It does my heart well to know my efforts are appreciated."

Completely sincere, honestly just happy to protect people. What a badass.

Still…

"I have to be honest, I wasn't expecting you."

He quirked an eye in a manner that would make Teal'c proud. "Oh. So you were expecting someone? Was the storm cloud meant to be a message, a way of signaling someone to meet you?" He didn't seem to believe it as a theory, only exploring his options. Ever the detective.

"No. The storm-cloud was," I looked at Zapdos, who seemed a bit smug. "This guy introducing himself to me."

"Ah, I see." He gave Zapdos a look. The Legendary looked back at him warily. I was no longer connected to him, but I could see Zapdos prepared to attack if need be. "These creatures are interesting. What are they?"

"Well man." I couldn't help a laugh. "That's one loaded question." I tried to focus. "First, can I ask you something? Why isn't Superman here? Metropolis is his turf right? And you found me because of the bank thing, so why didn't he come? Not that I'm offended or anything."

He didn't seem to mind the question. To be honest, he was being a lot less suspicious than I would have expected.

"He was forced to deal with a threat in Fiji." J'onn let a hint of disapproval enter his voice. "Due to a recent revelation, he's chosen to spend much of his time taking on the tasks of other heroes. I assume he is trying to tire himself out."

Huh. We all have problems we want to run from I guess.

"Okay. So as for these." I waved to them. "They're my Pokemon. And they are as smart as you or me. Smarter, in some cases."

"My apologies then, for my use of the word creature." He said sincerely. "I know how it feels to be treated as less than others."

It's okay. Latias said. You seem nice.

From the mouths of innocents.

You as well. His thought-speak was a surprise. But he was careful to keep it contained, only his voice and none of the emotion to go with it. Man, that had to be the mark of experience with telepathy. So you are his allies then.

Yep, yep, yep! Jirachi suddenly flew towards him, getting in her face as she barked her voice over and over. I'm Jirachi! Why is your skin green? What's a Martian? What's Mars? You're from space!? Wow, Master went to space once, to fight Deoxys, and he rode on Rayquaza, and Rayquaza went Mega, and they-

"Jirachi, calm down." I said softly. She slowed down. I didn't want her telling anyone too much. I could still remember my life, and I knew the events of the game. How much my Pokemon knew was a mystery. Regardless, while I may trust the Martian Manhunter, I still had to keep my cards close to my chest.

… Or maybe I didn't?

Caution to the wind. I was in the DC Universe. If I wanted to survive, I needed trust. And, if I'm going to be honest, I was damn tired of living as a normal person. Fuck 9 to 5's and dumbass bosses. I want to be a superhero mom.

Then again, that was an irresponsible thought. My Pokemon are not toys. I can't just see them as my powers. Whatever they decided to do was up to them.

But what I could do, until that was all decided, was give Manhunter a reason to help me find a place here, and show him we meant no harm.

"Read my mind." I asked him, tapping my head. "Just focus on my actual history, please. Nothing about any reading, watching, or listening of fictional materials."

He was quiet for a moment. Then he shook his head. "No."

That surprised me. "W-Why not?"

He walked towards me. "You have been a surprise to me. Your appearance in Metropolis, and the saving of those in the bank, followed by the storm-cloud, had me curious. And your allies, these… Pokemon? They seem to trust you, and what feel in their minds marks them as honest beings. But I would be foolish to enter the mind of an unknown in the presence of three psychic beings, and four others of unknown ability and," He looked over at Chesnaught, whose enormous bulk was obvious. "Power would be a mistake."

He walked over to a boulder and sat down gracefully. "We will simply do things as humans do them. We will speak. Tell me of your story. I will listen. And from there, we decide what comes next."

I stared at him, thinking carefully. Well, I guess it couldn't be that easy.

So I sat. And I started talking. It took awhile. He asked questions when needed, for clarification on certain terms. And I often found myself backtracking.

I told him about Pokemon, the various ins and outs of the universe they inhabited. About Kanto, the beginning of the story, about evolution and the various typings, using my Pokemon as an example (He impressively kept from flinching when I mention the shy Pokemon behind me was a Fire/Steel, even petting her when she bumped her head against him experimentally). When we got to me, I made sure to mention things like my family, my schooling, as some of my favorite foods. But any other details were about the games, and things from the plot of Pokémon Y and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire was treated as my own life.

If I could keep my history secret, right from the start, I could start building a myth. No one would be impressed with my life as loser writer from San Jose. But the life I'd built on my little 3DS? That was something to see.

My story was further supported by my Pokémon. Chesnaught spoke first. Like Zapdos, his 'voice' was more in impressions and ideas. He gave feeling of agreement, or smugness when I mentioned tough battles in Kalos. I found that odd, since he was technically descended from my first Chesnaught, the product of breeding a Pokémon with the stats and abilities I wanted, like the others. But apparently, he had memories of things he'd never actually been there for. Including my family, who he should never had known of.

The others showed the same strange memory combo. An odd fusion of my real life, and my life in the games, with no memory of me breeding them to be as powerful as I could make them. It helped my story, but damn was that shit weird.

And terrifying. Whoever dropped me off here had gone all out. They gave me a team from an important period in my life, a bag full of useful items, and shoved a fake history they knew I'd use into my Pokémon's heads. Yeah, the instant I learn how to fight like a badass I'm beating up whoever did this.

Still, it went well. I told J'onn all I could, in the time I could. Until finally, he could finally say, without a doubt.

"You've been lying." I blinked at that. Well damn. My siblings always did say I was a bad liar.

Then again, I guess he was a detective. And psychic.

"Yeah. I have. But not as much as I could have."

"I know." He said calmly. "You are a bad liar." Told ya. "Which tells me you have never had to practice it in earnest. Your tale carries truth, much of which Jirachi, Latias, and Slowbro have backed with mental images and emotions. And even the bits that are lies have proved harmless."

He rose. "You say are not from this world. But you know of me? How?"

Honesty I guess. "I read. A lot. I know the secret identities and histories of nearly every superhero and villain in this universe."

I finally shook his calm. He stared at me. "Prove it."

"Bruce Wayne. Clark Kent. Oliver Queen. Hal Jordan. Barry Allen. Diana-"

"Stop." He had lost his good humor. When I was a possible threat to him, he'd been calm. Now that I might be a threat to his friends, he was on edge. "How do you know those names?"

"In my universe, this world is an open secret. We follow your stories, seeing them as inspirations. And we get the full story." I tried to hide my fear. Even with all these Pokemon, and all their powers, the Martian Manhunter could take me down with ease, especially with my lack of experience.

"You… are a complex problem." He finally said. "These Pokemon are loyal to you, and will follow your lead. But I have no way of knowing if I can trust you. If what you say is true, then you have the identities of much of the Justice League. Even without your allies, you could be a danger. With them, you could cause even more destruction than many villains."

"I don't want to hurt you guys." I said, sounding a bit pathetic even to myself. "I just want to… I don't know. I have my Pokemon now. And I think I can do a lot of good with them. We can help a lot of people." I blinked. "And I think I channeled a bit of a Big Hero 6 thing. But it's true. I just want to be better. More, I guess."

"Hm." He crossed his arms. "I should I find the fact I just so happened to encounter someone from another world, who simply wants to help, an odd 'coincidence'. Even if it had been Superman who had come, your story would resonate with both of us."

"Fudgenipples." I grumbled, an odd curse from my youth. "That's true."

"So, since I cannot trust you, I will simply have to keep you close." He smiled gently. "At least to prove otherwise."

And if I turned against them, the League could put me down, hard. I was okay with it though.

"I suggest you follow me to the Hall of Justice. We can meet with some of the others and discuss the situation." He lifted into the air. "I suggest you put your team away for the trip."

"Right." I turned to my Pokemon. "See you all soon okay? I'll have food waiting when you need it."

They let out variations on their names or roars of approval. Chansey waddled up to me, handing me my now neatly packed bag with a look of disapproval. I slung it over my shoulder, then put them back into their balls. All except Latias.

"Ready for another flight?" I asked her with a grin.

Always Master. She said with a backflip of joy.

"Damnit, stop calling me master." I said as I lifted myself onto her back. "My name is-"

I was cutoff by J'onn lifting upwards, and had Latias follow. Seconds later the burst of sound that marked her turning into her Mega form boomed, and we were off.

 **PYJ**

Flying is pretty freaking awesome. Like I need to even mention that. Now that I was ready for it, bile didn't enter my mouth. I did feel a sense of vertigo when I looked at the ground as it rushed past at high speed. Latias was enjoying herself, cartwheeling and diving as we flew. While J'onn, true to his word, didn't directly enter my mind, he did seem to enjoy watching her play as I sat astride her.

After a moment of flying, I looked over and tapped my head, indicating I wanted to speak. He connected with me after a hesitant moment, surface thoughts only.

I should explain by the way. The whole telepathy thing. See, the way it works is, there are several different levels. Surface thoughts are things you directly project to a telepath, so you only say what you want to say, though it takes serious control. If you aren't careful you end up saying things that pop into your head, including emotions. From there, it gets deeper. My connection to my Pokemon adds in the emotions as a matter of course, allowing us to 'know' each other.

Past that, you end up in territory that means you either really like someone, or really damn hate them. I'd suggested that particular level of mind melding when I was trying to tell J'onn about myself.

For now J'onn linked up with me.

What is it? He said in my thoughts. Is something wrong?

I'm just curious. How fast are we flying? Latias is supposed to be capable of going Mach 4.

In that case, I suppose congratulations are in order. Despite the loud wind flying around us I thought I could hear him chuckle. She is currently going at Mach 5, roughly. You say she has never gone that fast?

Never! This time Latias answered, doing an enthusiastic barrel roll, uh, I mean aileron roll, that left me whooping in excitement. But I saw how you fly, and I copied it!

Well that was interesting.

What do you mean Latias? I asked her, scratching her neck gently.

I believe she mean my use of telekinesis. J'onn explained. I use it in several way to increase my flight speed. It is interesting she can sense it, as well as mimic it.

Huh. I wonder what else she can learn?

And my other Pokemon for that matter. If I had an Ice Pokemon watch an ice villain, would they be able to learn a new technique? Food for thought.

We flew a bit longer as I continued to think. I didn't know if Swamp Thing was around, but maybe he could teach Chesnaught some tricks? Wait, could Chesnaught connect to the Green, the metaphysical force all plant users in DC Comics could use.

My inner nerd was on full blast now. I kept thinking up the various ways my team could get advantages in this universe. No idea how the hell I would train Dark Pokemon though. Not without going to some dangerous places. Well, maybe if-

I was stopped when J'onn began to fly low, coming down towards a city. Latias twisted to follow, and I kept my knees tight to her as I followed.

The Hall of Justice is a beautiful building. One of those long water fountains in front that stretched for dozens of feet, a big white building with an arched front, and a weird statue that looked like a gold spiky thing. People were gathered to take photos and stare in awe at the home of the Justice League.

What a cool looking place man.

That's when I realized something. It was really public. And I was riding a purple dragon. With no mask or way to hide my identity.

Hold up. We stopped in the air. Thinking quickly, I reached into my bag and wrapped a random blue cloth I found inside around my mouth. I wrapped a red one around my hat and hair.

Good. I had been planning to hide your identity with my powers, but this works as well. J'onn moved forward once more, floating gently down. Latias went back into her normal form, following him. We immediately gained an audience, people staring in awe as we went down. Stay close. I don't want anyone trying to speak with you. Your appearance in Gotham was brief, but people noticed it. We should keep your appearances simply that. Appearances, rather than letting any villains obtain any information.

We landed in front of the doors and entered, ignoring those following our entrance. He walked with quick steps, forcing me with my shorter legs to run a bit faster, with Latias floating behind me as she looked around in curiosity.

We will take a Zeta Tube to a secret location, one we use when interrogating prisoners.

Should I be offended? I asked jokingly.

This time I did hear him chuckle. No. I'm simply being cautious. Come.

We stepped into a back room which looked like a library, which had windows allowing people to see inside. A library with the biggest freaking computer I'd ever seen.

Man, can you run games on that thing?

I assume so, though Batman never allows me to test it.

I managed to get the Martian Manhunter to quip. Heck yeah.

Come. We will be entering the Zeta Tube. Do you know what those are?

Uh, teleport things, right? Will I be allowed to go through them?

Yes. As I said, we often need to take prisoners to this location. He had the grace to grimace. As I said, while you have been very cooperative, I still need to be careful. Some recent revelations have made security a concern.

He walked up to the computer and tapped in a series of buttons. Then he stepped to the side and a small camera thing popped out of a ceiling and scanned him.

"Override, Martian Manhunter, 07." He said as the device scanned him.

A female synthesized voice answered. " _Recognized, Access Granted."_

Two doors slid open, revealing a light within, and he motioned towards me. Enter. Please.

Well, now I'm back to being scared. Uselessly probably. But he hadn't taken my Pokeballs at least, so I could fight back if this was a trap.

Unless I got dropped into the center of the Earth. Then the best I could hope would be for Heatran to be released, as she would be the only one capable of surviving such temperatures.

Nope. Not going to think. I dived in as the computer lady spoke.

" _Recognized, Captive 01."_ It was that fast. One second I entered a bright light with some ominous blade things at the end, the next, a room.

Just a concrete room, big enough to hold the largest Meta humans. No windows or doors except the still open Zeta thingie behind. A chair, and a single collar on a stand nearby. Ominous. Two flashes were followed by J'onn and Latias. Latias looked around, then frowned.

Awww. This room isn't fun like the other one.

"It isn't meant to be." J'onn said in both his normal and mental voice, creating an odd double voice. "Here, we interrogate criminals, like the Team Aqua you both fought in your universe. Only in the most dire need however. When discretion is of the utmost need."

"Or when random dude fall from the sky with a team of adorable murderbeasts?" Uh, Roll Credits?

"Indeed." He gestured the chair, cape snapping as he moved. "Please, sit. Two of my associates will be here soon. They will help confirm your story."

"Uh, cool. And Latias?"

"She can stand beside me. Should you prove hostile, I will be forced to… you understand." He didn't sugarcoat it. I felt a brief anger, but squashed it as best as possible.

Master? She asked me, her eyes turning to look at me.

"It's cool… in a paranoia is a scary concept sort of way." I sighed and nodded. "Stand by Latias."

She didn't seem happy about it, but she moved towards him as I sat my butt down. "So. Who's coming?"

"Someone who we should feel lucky is free. You seem to be having a day of meeting leaguers."

He didn't say anything more. We all stayed still, waiting. Eventually, Latias was napping on air, a small amount of drool leaving her mouth as she slowly lifted and lowered with every slow breath. I was bored, and thinking of ways to either be a superhero or just plain survive in this world. And the Martian Manhunter looked like the coolest mo'fo in the world.

You've got to admire the man's patience.

About thirty minutes later, at a guess, the Zeta tube lit up once more. I sighed in relief, as my crazy, crazy mind had been in the midst of planning how to use Heatran to search for gold and other valuables in the earth.

"Thank god. I was- uhhhhhhhhhh."

 **She** walked in. Tiara on her head. Armor in the shape of a bikini, because when you're invulnerable, you protect vital points. And the lasso. The golden, dangerous lasso.

"Oh my god." Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod.

Wonder Woman smiled, a gentle stretch of the lips. "Good afternoon. I'm-"

"Diana." I whisper, still staring at her.

I said it right? Wonder Woman, over any superhero in existence, is my favorite, and the one I respect over all of them. This is my opinion of course. But all of yours are wrong if you have a different hero at the top of that list.

Her personality, history, legacy. Everything about her makes her the hero I want to emulate in so many ways, if not in powers, than in deed.

Read JLA: A League of One when you get the chance. Do yourself a favor. It's Wonder Woman fighting a dragon, and if you know anything about comic books, you know what an understatement that is.

I was so awestruck I didn't notice her quirk an eye at my statement of her name. "So you do know our identities." She turned to J'onn. "You were right to call us."

"Yes." A man stepped forward.

From behind me.

I jumped, and let out a masculine roar as I prepared to fight my opponent.

It was not, in any way, a shrill screech of noise as I prepared to piss myself.

A dark cloak fluttered as he walked up to J'onn and Wonder Woman. He turned, blank white eyes staring at me, a square jaw set in a stern grimace. Pointy horns pointed upwards from his head. And a bat symbol was emblazoned on his chest, an obvious target.

Like I need to tell you who this guy is?

"You say you have the secret identities of the League. And have proven it. But Martian Manhunter says you have proven to be willing to talk. As well as a liar. He chose us, to talk to you and your… companions." He casts an eye at Latias.

I had a brief moment of mirth at the sight of Batman glaring at the slowly snoring Latias, almost asking the adorable dragon, with her innocence and peaceful snoring, to tell him her secrets. Not that's an image I would save on my phone if I could.

He saw me smiling, and turned to look at me. My stomach dropped.

Not to suggest another story for you guys to read, but there's a fanfic I read. One where a girl wakes up in the DC Universe with a Lantern Ring dependent on joy. The mental influence of the ring allows her to look at him without the usual fear. According to her, he looks ridiculous when you aren't terrified.

I did not have a Power Ring to keep Batman from being anything but scary as all get out. I was scared.

He knew it too, the badass jerk.

"So. Here is the question. If you've been so cooperative, what would you be lying about?"

He stepped aside. Wonder Woman stepped forward. And her hand went to the lasso on her hip.

"I would like your permission," She said softly. "To use the lasso on you, and prove your intentions."

The lasso. No. Screw Batman, screw Martian Manhunter digging into my mind with a psychic mallet. The lasso forces you to tell the truth. No half-truths, no white lies, no dodging. You say what is true, and you say it with every detail. More than that.

Wearing it shows your true self as well. The deep part of you, the one you hide from your friends, family, and yourself. No one wants to know themselves that deeply. No one should have to, not without immense enlightenment and meditation to make it a moot point.

I'd made a mistake. I should never have told them I knew their secret identities. And now I'd pay for it by seeing myself for what I really am.

Nothing scared me more than that.


	4. Even If They Weren't So Great

Wonder Woman held out the lasso. Or maybe I should think of it as Lasso, capitol letter at the start. Forged by mystic power once bowed to by ancient civilizations. And she was getting ready to wrap it around a paunchy nerd from San Jose. A paunchy nerd who had ended up with insane power and knowledge that put him near the top of the freaking Batman's paranoia shortlist.

"I'm going to say yes, but I want you to know I have serious reservations about this." I looked up at Wonder Woman. I think for the first time really. I'd been so caught up in _who_ she was, that I hadn't actually looked at her. She was beautiful. And she was smiling gently. Understandingly.

"I'm… not a great guy. And I don't know if I want to see the parts of myself that aren't that great." I stared at the Lasso once more. "A woman who I respect once said the Lasso is 'a deadly weapon, that not only binds you, and follows its mistress' commands, the damned thing can see into your soul.' What do you think?"

Wonder Woman kneeled down from her statuesque height. "I think, that she is a wise woman. But I promise. This will only take a moment. You have my word, we only want to make sure you aren't a threat. I can't promise what you will find within you. But you must have faith in yourself." She looked at Latias. "The same faith that your allies have in you, if what Martian Manhunter has told me is true."

I felt guilt again. My Pokemon's faith in me was fake, the product of shoving pokepuffs into their mouths and training them to beat up my friends on game screen. Or maybe from a powerful psychic/reality warper screwing them and me over.

But I had to do this. Because I could never trust myself otherwise.

"Okay." I breathed deeply. "I will believe in the Pokemon who believe in me. Bind me." I winced. "And I meant that in a non-weird way."

She laughed at my creepy joke, probably to make me feel better, then slipped it over me.

 **PYJ**

I don't want to talk about what I saw. I will admit to a lot of things. But never what I saw within myself.

I know, sounds pathetic. What the hell could a nerd like me do in his life that he's ashamed to admit it.

But the real question you should be asking, is what have you done lately? What are your doubts? Your fears? The things that woke you at night, night scared or crying, just woke you as you find yourself wondering what is wrong with you.

That is what I saw. I saw what was wrong with me, in every way possible. The things I never fixed, the things ignored, the things that killed me inside to think about. I was a monster.

But I also saw the good parts of me. Simple things. Things you never think about as good really. But the Lasso knows. It knows. It showed me the greatness within me, the things that make the people you love smile at you just because they love those small things.

That was what saved me from diving into a hole and killing myself. I may not be an angel, all full of my own jealousies, selfishness, doubts, and rage. But I wasn't a monster either. I'm… okay. Just like most people. I'm okay.

But hey, you don't want to hear me not tell you about my little insights into my own soul.

Because when the Lasso went on, the questions followed.

"Do you have the identities of every member of the Justice League?"

Even as I answered these questions, please remember I was also dealing with all that monster vs angel stuff I was talking about by the way. So my voice may have come out a bit shaky. Or a lot. No matter how lucid I may have sounded, a part of me was being burned.

"I don't know that for sure. I would need a full list of Leaguers to be sure. But I know almost every single hero and villains identity, and possibly those who have yet to even appear in this world."

That one got me wide eyes from all three.

"How is that-" Wonder Woman was interrupted by Batman who turned to give her a look I couldn't see, but that she returned with a respectful nod. He gave her what I guessed was acknowledging one back, then turned back to me.

"How is it possible for you to know this?"

I fought. Even as I saw parts of my life that shook my soul, I tried not to speak. To tell some different truth, to tell part of it. But the Lasso pulled it from me. The truth, in full.

"My universe is connected to others through metaphysical gateways." I felt my eyes widen. "Uh, wait what?"

Three of the most powerful beings in this universe stared at me with different levels of curiosity. Or suspicion.

Three guesses who the last is, and two don't count.

"What does that mean?"

I tried to force it now, to say what I had to. But even as the Lasso was forcing me to look within, it pulled the truth out. A truth that didn't feel like mine.

"I'm a nerd back home. And all my knowledge comes from books and movies. Like I said," I pointed the next words to Manhunter. "I read."

"So your world has documentaries about us?" Diana asked, seemingly confused. "You study us?"

"No." I prayed quietly for an explosion to cut me off, even as I felt violated by the Lasso tearing my soul down to the bare bones. "We just watch you. And other worlds as well. It's more emulation than anything. Creative minds get images from other universes in the form of fantasies and dreams, and convey them in art form. The images sometimes come through in a mangled form, which leads to odd versions. And sometimes the people who get these messages force their own interpretation of the truth onto them."

"But enough comes through for you to know about our identities." Batman is pissed. Well and truly pissed. "So, our histories are just entertainment to your world. Everything that happens to us, mass produced for maximum profit. With no regard for what we are forced to go through."

"It's not like that!" I yelled, emotion coming through.

"But that is what you are suggesting." J'onn said softly. "You must be clear. How much of our world is conveyed to yours? How much of our history, our capabilities? I am sorry, but while I promise you won't be harmed, we must know how compromised-"

"My world doesn't just treat yours as entertainment, we see you as an inspiration!" I couldn't stop now. The Lasso and my own need to be understood were in concert. "We don't look at your pain as a drama dammit! We have our own problems you know? And sometimes, when you want to think of a way out, you look to a hero for the answer. Hell, none of us even knew this world was real. I mean, we had our suspicions, but… as far as we were concerned, you, and heroes like you, were only real where it mattered. As examples to what we could be as people. We don't want to war with you. Hell, I can think of a whole lot of people who would love to apologize for this whole metaphysical thing."

Dammit, there it was again. Metaphysical. Is that even a word? Why was I saying that? Sure, people have made that suggestion, but everyone has a theory they pop up when they fantasize about their universe of choice being real. But if what I was saying was true, and the Lasso obviously believed it was, at least the Pokemon and DC Universes existed alongside my original universe.

But this whole thing was just another mystery on top of the others. Why was this truth about the nature of my universe inside me? Who dropped me here? Who gave me Pokemon, and then gave them memories that were simply impossible?

Wonder Woman smiled slightly as I breathed deeply. "It is… gratifying, I suppose. To know that we serve a role in your universe as well as our own."

"That's because you haven't heard of rule 34." Batman growled under his breath. Guess something are a constant everywhere "Regardless of our roles as 'inspirations', we still have threat of a serious security risk here. Is the rest of your world on its way as well? Are you the beginning of an invasion?"

"I doubt it." My words were shaky as the Lasso had forced out some guilty memories at the mention of rule 34, making things awkward in a big way. "My world isn't as advanced as most others. We don't even have aliens I think. And my Pokemon are not the kinds of beings that my world would be capable of controlling. And if we did invade, it would probably be with autograph books in hand."

That obviously didn't satisfy Batman. "Your world apparently has access to these creatures. And _you_ got here. So while the Lasso is forcing you to tell the truth," His eyes narrowed. "Unless he can circumnavigate the Lasso."

"That is not possible." Diana did something that wasn't yelling, but also wasn't talking. "You know the power of this Lasso. It has never failed."

"Never is not always, and we don't know the power he might be hiding." A gravely growl responded. "Does he have more than simply control over these, Pokemon? Several of them have already proven to have psychic abilities. What if he has even more power than that?"

"Then it will be up to us to find out then." Martian Manhunter reasoned. "It is, indeed, suspicious that he has knowledge of us, yet he has shown no threat to us."

"I don't plan to either!" I interrupted, now getting damn annoyed at being ignored as they discussed this shit right in front of me. Seriously rude. "Seriously, I'm just some guy."

Wonder Woman nodded firmly. "The Lasso sees everything in his history, knowledge, and emotions. It has worked on beings across this universe, including those of a mythical and psychic nature. I agree we should be cautious but there are limits Batman."

" _Not,_ where the safety of this world is concerned." Blank eyes narrowed at me, accusing. I glared back, still scared of him but now angry enough to not give a shit. "We asked how he knew about us, and now we have the threat of a world in control of these creatures, two of whom defeated four armed gunmen in seconds with clearly metahuman abilities. A world that has full knowledge of us, of our weaknesses, motivations, and histories."

"So what do you suggest we do? Arrest him?" Diana asked angrily, walking alongside me to glare at Batman as well. "He has done nothing wrong Batman!"

Guys, my favorite superhero just had my back. I was kinda fanboying. Hard to glare when your favorite hero is doing a double glare with you towards the Dark Knight.

"No, he has not." Batman said gruffly. "That is the only reason why I'm entertaining this."

"Let us at the very least come to a middle ground." Martian Manhunter said, stepping forward to look down at me. "Are you a threat to this world?"

"Not the world. I like Earth. And not the Solar System either."

"What about its people? Are you planning to do harm to them?"

"Depends on the person really." I winced at the glare Batman gave me. Damn, nothing can prepare you for how damn _mean_ the guy is. "I mean, like the gunmen. They were going to hurt people. So I hurt them, enough to stop them. And I damn sure don't plan on killing villains. I'm not going to go nuts or anything. I just want to be a good guy."

The Lasso showed me the good inside, remember? And there was enough of it to comfort me.

"I may be a loser. But I'm not one-hundred percent a dick." I misquoted.

Wait, the Lasso let me call myself a loser? Goddamn ouch dude… fuck that hurt a lot.

Diana smiled slightly, patting me on the shoulder as she seemed to understand what was making me wince. "Say something good about yourself."

"Uh, sure?" I answered, confused. "I'm a great guy."

Oh. Right, we all have good and bad in us. Still, going to have to make the 'loser' thing a lie, and soon.

"Then what do you plan to do now. If you walked out, with no one the wiser about your existence, what would you do?" She asked, stepping around to stand beside the rest.

"Oh, uh." Shit. Also, I seem to be cussing a lot lately. My mom would be disappointed. "I guess first I'd get a job and a place to stay. Man, I'm not looking forward to that. Hey, is Waynecorp looking for twenty four year olds with giant monsters to work for them?" Batman stared at me. "Okay then. Well from there, I'd start training, and getting to know my Pokemon better. We need to learn how to fight better together, and if we're going to live here, I doubt anyone will leave me alone while I have super creatures under my command. Then, I'd like to help people. Be a superhero. You know, fight the awesome fight."

Well shoot, that came off a bit naïve. But it had the benefit of being True.

"And your Pokemon. What do you want to do with them?"

"They are their own people. They see me as a leader, and follow my commands, so as long as I am good, so are they. But their motivations are their own. And they are the thing I feel most guilty about."

"Explain that." Wonder Woman asked. "Why do you feel guilty?"

"Because I don't feel I deserve that loyalty. They have faith in me for things that I never had to take on. They had absolute loyalty in me, taking my commands and showing me faith in even the darkest of moments, and all I had to do was tell them what to do."

I lowered my head. "They are good people, who have defended their world from things that would make others falter. They deserve better than a loser to defend them."

It was quiet for a moment. Then J'onn spoke.

"If you like, you don't have to take care of them."

I looked up, shocked. "What?"

He nodded. "The League does have its resources. We could take care of them, find good homes for them to live in, while trying to find a way to get you home. You could stay somewhere else, be cared for. As a refugee of sorts. You could be safe, and your Pokemon as well." He leaned forward. "You don't have to be a hero."

I could have said yes. I should have. With what I knew, I could have stayed in a swanky hotel and lived it up on a Waynetech budget. It would have been easy. I don't know how to fight after all. Being a hero meant pain, horror, and death. And if Darkseid came, whether for the first or last time depending on the age of this DC…

I thought of the forges, and the tortures. I thought of the equation. And I thought of my Pokemon being subjected to that horror.

But the truth came out.

"I don't want to."

None of them seemed surprised. Still, Batman asked.

"Why not? You say you don't feel worthy of them. That you feel they could live up to their potential elsewhere."

I scoffed. "Yeah, because you guys know anything about Pokemon. Besides that, they are part of me." Anyone who has played the games and loved them knows that. "My Pokemon are mine, as much as my family, as my friends. I'm not worthy of them yet. But I want to be. They are my power now, and we can do more together than we can apart."

I grin up at the three of them. "That's why you created the League, right? At least in part."

I get a smile from Wonder Woman, an introspective look from Martian Manhunter, and a nothing from Batman.

"So… what do you want to do now?"

"You want to be a hero?" Diana smiled. "I believe we can work with that actually. After all, we are building a new team are we not? And we will need to keep an eye on you."

"You also need training." Batman looked down at my stomach pointedly, doing the ocular equivalent of poking my belly fat. "You _will_ tell us everything about your world, the capabilities of your Pokemon, their weaknesses, and the contents in that bag. You are now on probation, and will be on watch at all times. No buying things on a non-League budget, no going out without a member of the Team."

I gulped. While the list was galling, I had expected something on that order. It pissed me off, and I wanted to scream at the sheer audacity of it, but the fact it was being handed down by Batman made it seem like law. "G-Got it."

"No." Wonder Woman and J'onn stepped forward and faced Batman. Diana glared. "Bruce." She rolled his eyes when he glared at her for using his name. "Bruce. You are going too far. Pull back."

He stared up at her. Then at J'onn.

The Martian Manhunter shook his head. "I understand your paranoia. But what you have described is nothing less than imprisonment."

Batman seemed to think. Then he looked at me.

"We will assign sessions. In order to… discuss, your world and your abilities. You will stay in a location of our choosing, and it would be best if you logged when you went out, but you may leave when and where you wish. You will be allowed to buy what you wish, though weapons will obviously have to be approved by myself or other League members. We will discuss other privileges, but do our best to stay in reasonable limits, with a defense lawyer of your choosing to help apply it. The lawyer may need to be fed a story, but we can apply it to your situation. Acceptable?"

I stare at him, then at Diana and J'onn. Holy… they smacked him down. Of course, when I look at Batman, he seems way too calm. Maybe it was his plan all along. If so, that is scary and slightly relieving.

"Yeah. That's a bit better. Thanks." A part of me really wanted to yell at him though. Dick move Bruce. This is why people don't like you sometimes.

He makes a facial expression that isn't a smile. "You may end up being useful to the team one day. But as of now, you have a high potential to be a danger to yourself and others, some of whom are the last line of defense for this Earth."

"Which ironically makes you a good fit for this team, considering some of the other members." J'onn said. "One last time. For certain. Are you sure of what you've chosen?"

No half-truths. The Lasso brought it all out in a massive scoop.

"I'm not sure. But not many people are, when it comes to big decisions. I am okay with it, and I want to try my best," I looked over at Latias. "Hey, you awake Latias?"

Y-Yeah. Just have something in my eyes. She lifted up, wiping at happy tears.

Wait, why… oh. She'd heard when they'd asked if I wanted to get rid of my Pokemon. As well as my answer, when I called her my family. And now she was giving me a soppy small, feelings of warmth emanating from her as she sniffled, her cute face staring as though she wanted to memorize me.

I smiled fondly at her. It home again, that they were sentient now. They may have been given to me, but whoever dropped me off knew exactly how to make me accept my Pokemon. They made them _feel_. And that was made me trust them. They may be the only things here I can trust about myself.

 _ **I have to have faith in my Pokemon right?**_

"Never mind. I am absolutely sure of my path." I said, Lasso still around my chest.

Mugyuuuuu! Latias cried, rushing forward to hug me as new tears appeared. Guess she had heard the part of the Lasso forcing me to tell the truth. No, wait, I could feel her connecting her mind to mine. I looked over her shoulder at the three superheroes, blushing when I noticed how amused they were at the sight of my emotional dragon hugging me close while making weird noises.

"So uh, what is the team anyways?" Maybe I'd join the Suicide Squad? Scary, but I could try and fulfill my crush on Harley Quinn!

"Not yet." Batman turns his gaze to Latias. The cute dragon sees him and freezes. "We need to conduct interviews on all of your Pokemon. Starting with _her_."

The Batman stands as the stuff of nightmares, shadows and darkness as blank eyes stare outwards with a horrible glare. His lantern jaw only serves to further dehumanize him, almost a mocking gesture.

All pointed at the cute dragon before him.

She hiccups, staring back in fear. D-Darkrai!

It took me a while to calm her down. But once I did, I turned towards Batman. He gave me a look. I stepped forward, feeling the red rage in my chest.

"They won't wear the Lasso unless they want to."

He didn't say a word. He listened, calm as a cucumber.

"I choose to wear the Lasso. But I'll be damned if you force my Pokemon to go through that as well. It's their choice or you can have Superman dumb me in the sun."

"And if they all decide not to?"

I will. Latias said softly, floating up to look over my shoulder. She gave him a cute glare. Even though you're mean right now, even though J'onn keeps saying you usually nice.

Batman gave Martian Manhunter a look, which he simply returned with a smile.

"It wouldn't matter if they said no Batman." Diana said, stepping forward. "They have done us no harm. And until it is necessary, I see no reason to force every one of them under the Lasso." Her eyes were polished steel, her words diamond. "You know, as well as anyone, how terrifying this Lasso is."

We all stared at it briefly, this gently shining thing hanging in a small hand that coud bend steel. And Batman and I shuddered and turned away.

"Okay then." I said softly. I turned to Latias and pet her cheek.

"You ready?"

She nods, a sudden maturity in her eyes. Yes.

And so it began.

 **PYJ**

Later, when the young man and his Pokemon left with J'onn and Diana, Batman went to the cave beneath his manor and sat at his computer. The sounds of the Cave were a comfort, the sounds of bats flying around a warm reminder of home. He was focused, writing up the profile.

This man represented a threat they couldn't ignore, on many levels. J'onn seemed to like him, but he shared a lot with Clark in that respect. And Diana trusted in both the Lasso and the honest response the young man's Pokemon seemed to have towards him.

But he hadn't gotten as far he had based on luck. J'onn's judgement was valuable, but he wasn't infallible. And Diana's trust in her Lasso, while justified, meant that someone discovering a way to dodge around it would come when she least needed it too.

After all, for all the power of the Lasso, one had to ask the right questions. It was good, but Batman would rather trust his own mind and instincts if he could.

His mind said to hold onto itself, not to get pulled in by the sob story. His instincts said this was a good man, but that the whole situation needed to monitored, simply for verification.

For example, when they'd interviewed the Pokemon. Their keeper had refused to force his Pokemon wear the Lasso unless _they_ wished to, holding his ground.

 _"_ _I choose to wear the Lasso. But I'll be damned if you force my Pokemon to go through that as well. It's their choice or you can have Superman throw me into the sun."_

Batman hadn't expected that. But he'd respected it, especially when Diana backed him once more by saying she wouldn't put the Lasso on them unless they agreed. J'onn didn't say a word, but he did shake with laughter as he watched the formerly angry, scared and awed young man turn into something like a righteous father.

Two of the Pokemon refused. One hadn't surprised him. Zapdos, the enormous bird. It had glared at them all with a proud glower. Latias had explained things. And Zapdos scoffed, beak opening in a caw of noise. He hadn't needed a translation for that.

The second one was a surprise. A tiny piny blob called Chansey. The thing had looked at the rope, shook its head, then sat down and started talking. Nothing more, nothing less. That was telling.

Still, their stories all matched regardless. They'd needed a translation for most, but Latias and Jirachi were able to speak with telepathic thought, which the young man had called thought-speak. All the Pokemon had told of their memories of their trainer, of what they'd seen with him.

Chesnaught was clearly the mischievous type, and had immediately tried to lie under the Lasso, only to be shocked when it didn't work. He'd fallen in line after some words from his trainer, though if he was anything like Kid Flash or Robin he'd be back at it soon.

Heatran had immediately hidden behind her trainer at the sight of Batman. Her trainer, once more showing backbone, told Batman to turn away, and spent a few minutes with Diana and Latias coaxing her that it was safe, and that Darkrai wouldn't get her (He really needed to find out what a Darkrai was).

Slowbro fell asleep. And for some reason, his trainer said that the Pokemon on his tail didn't need to be interviewed as well. That had been odd all around. He woke quickly, and answered their questions just as fast, before going back to sleep.

Jirachi had been a mess. She was fascinated with _everything_ , asking question about his constume, the room, Diana's beauty, if he and Diana were dating (Which the trainer and J'onn had smirked at). She never calmed down, even under the Lasso, her story rambling and going everywhere, her arms waving as she spoke her mind, unfazed no matter how he'd glared at her. It didn't help that he couldn't glare at her effectively.

Of all the tactics, cuteness was an odd one for fazing an interrogator.

Diana giggling at him as she hugged Jirachi to her hadn't helped.

Latias was much the same as Jirachi, only less energetic. She had the same innocent childishness, the same kindness. And the same story.

So he watched their trainer instead.

Guilt had rolled off him in waves as they described their adventures taking down gangsters and beating monsters. He had shifted uncomfortably with nearly every word. He showed confusion when the Pokemon gave details of his personal life, seemingly unable to understand how they knew so much.

One more thing on the pile of suspicions.

The Lasso, and his own deductions, told him that at the very least the young man didn't want to be anything more than a hero, even willing to go out into a world he had no foothold in to try and make a life of his own as a hero. Honorable.

But that didn't preclude any threat he might hold. Someone had left him in the outskirts for a purpose. In moments of waking, he had stopped a bank robbery, one that happened right when he was in the vicinity. He had checked with the gunmen. Someone had told them Superman would be preoccupied at that exact time, and hired them to rob the bank at their orders. The gunmen were novices, but known criminals, making them stupid enough to rob the bank with that small amount of information, and inexperienced for the young man to beat them.

He'd seen the footage. In the time the young man had entered, the gunmen had a full fifteen seconds to fire and kill him before the Pokemon had fully materialized. He'd have died if he had been facing gunmen in Gotham.

So someone had planned it. Someone who was most likely setting up the young man, his Pokemon, and Earth up in some giant game.

The question was who. Who was behind it?

The best way to know the answer was to play this out in a controlled setting. The Team. Put him in Mount Justice, with its hundreds of security cameras and Zeta Tubes to allow for quick transport when needed, with back up entrances just in case, all allowing for full league response if needed. Put him on a team of superhumans, many capable of at least holding off his Pokemon if needed. Make him dependent on League resources. And spend time, as much as possible, discerning what he knew.

But he had mentioned something interesting.

 _"_ _But I know almost every single hero and villains identity, and possibly those who have yet to even appear in this world."_

Yet to appear. Knowledge of future problems. Problems that might be whoever dropped him off course.

But they could also be enemies from this world soon to come.

Batman felt a slow smile on his face.

A man with knowledge of the possible future, with a group of metanimals, and verified to be a non-threat by the Lasso. A good man, by all accounts

Paranoia would be in play. But this young man represented a powerful advantage, combined with a kind demeanor. He was, to be Machiavellian about it, too useful to ignore.

At the same time, he was a lost young man in a new world, and his Pokemon were in the same boat.

Some part of Batman, the part where a boy named Bruce lived still, could not ignore that plight.

Unfortunately, Batman had gone too far in his paranoia. He'd tried to dictate terms that were far too strict, had pushed in the wrong directions, and Diana and J'onn had rightfully called him on that.

He'd taken it to far. When the fact that the young man knew so much… that an entire world has seen his life. Seen his pain.

 _Pearls glitter in a red rain. And three died that day._

He'd gotten emotionally compromised, so angered by a world mocking his... He had allowed that to dictate him.

Hopefully what he'd be doing now would make up for it.

While the young man had proven to be a danger, more than that he had also proven to be a good man, and strong willed once he'd gotten over his awe. The fact that will came into play when his Pokemon had been pushed into a position he didn't like spoke well for his character.

So now here was Batman, working on both building a file on the young man, and coming up with ways to make amends.

After all, what was the point of being a millionaire if you can't give extravagant gifts? (Actually, it might have been billionaire for a while. He'd have to ask Fox.)

He would also have to up the League members needed to mentor the Team. One had to account for the new security risk.

And after, to set up the first of many sessions to interview (interrogate) him for information on both his Pokemon and what sort of knowledge he had.

First, he wrote the file out. Beginning with the most important part.

"Computer, begin file. Name, Mahmoud Schahed, spelled…"

He ignored Robin hiding in the shadows. After all, Dick was doing so well.

It had taken him a full ten seconds longer to notice him sneaking up this time.

Then again, maybe Dick would know what would make a good gift.

 **PYJ**

I won't go into the questions they asked my Pokemon. It was mostly the same stuff as they asked me, with the addition of their abilities and memories. Then they came back to me and asked if I had any extra powers, what my name was, where I had lived, how old I am, my life before. Enough of it blended with my Pokemon's memories, personal memories and members of my family my Pokemon believed they'd met, that they didn't dig too much deeper. Or at least, pretended to ignore it.

Still, they set up a series of sessions for the next few weeks, all to get as deep as they could into my history and life. I wasn't looking forward to that.

I didn't tell them. I knew, when they mentioned a new team, what this universe was. At least I guessed. The Young Justice one.

I remembered loving the show to death. I felt sadder about its cancellation than I did when they screwed up the Mass Effect endings.

Well, close second.

And that's what was screwing me up. I now know for certain. My Pokemon weren't the only ones with fucked up memories.

I couldn't remember anything about Young Justice.

Oh hell, I can remember a lot actually. I remember watching it, introducing my brothers to it. I remember reading fanfics about it, I remember the creators of it, I remember having a craving for my own action figure from it.

But actual details, like characters and story, are out of my hands. I knew I was in the Young Justice tv show. Earth 16. But I have no idea what's going to happen next.

So as an example, I've read a few fanfics based on it. But all I remember about those is certain actions the characters created by their writers did. Anything that has an impact on the direct plot of Young Justice? Gone.

Some has fucked with my mind, and the minds of my Pokemon.

The thought consumed me from inside the small room they'd given me. I was staying in a modest bed and breakfast on the outskirts of Philadelphia, one the League had apparently chosen in case of the need for Witness Protection. I could hear my guards talking outside my room on their radios. The windows were bulletproof and sealed tight.

In other words, this place was wide open if the League of Shadows decided to kill me.

I couldn't sleep, consumed with trying to get my memories back, trying to remember this worlds threats. My bag had been taken, and my Pokemon were now locked in a box next to my bed, so that I could keep them beside me, but only use them when allowed. And I didn't even have Latias with me to talk to.

I remembered briefly where she was now, and smiled.

 **PYJ**

 _Earlier_

 _"_ _Wonder Woman." I asked Diana plaintively. She turned and smiled as we were driven towards the hotel in a large van, one big enough to hold Latias. Apparently it was used for large animals. Today it held me, Latias, Wonder Woman, and three armed guards._

 _"_ _Yes Mahmoud?" I'd told her my name earlier. Thank god I could remember_ _ **that**_ _. Didn't make up for the other shit though._

 _"_ _I'd like to ask you for something." I looked at Latias, who smiled back at me. We'd already discussed this in thought-speak. "I'd like you to take Latias to Themiscyra. Or somewhere just as safe._

 _She blinked in shock. "What?"_

 _"_ _I know, it sounds crazy!" I said in response. "But I can't just have her hanging around me. She's amazing, but she'd be in a lot of danger in this world. She needs someplace safe, someplace where people won't go out of their way to hurt her. I can summon her with the Eon Flute whenever I need her! And the Amazons would be good for her."_

 _"_ _And if she is a danger to my people?" Wonder Woman said back, frowning slightly. "She is a telepath. She could intrude into my peoples mind, force them under their thrall."_

 _"_ _She wouldn't." I protested. Latias looked up, staring at Diana with wet eyes._

 _Wonder Woman thought carefully. Then she decided._

 _"_ _Latias, do you mind if I wrap you in the Lasso once more?"_

 _No Miss Woman. Latias didn't get that whole secret identity thing yet._

 _Wonder Woman smiled at the mistake, then gently wrapped the Lasso around the dragons arm. Then she wrapped it around her own gauntlet covered arm. For some reason, I could tell this was more than a simple interrogation now._

 _"_ _I would like to make an oath with you Latias. I have the Lasso wrapped around you, so that if you have no true wish to make the oath, you will not be coerced to lie about it. What this will entail is you promising to do no harm to my people, and in return gain our shelter. In return, I will offer you the same, in full, as your trainer wishes._

 _Yes! I'll do it! Latias said proudly._

Diana thought briefly. Then she started. "Do you swear an oath on the Lasso on your arm, to live in peace and harmony with those of the Amazon Nation, and also swear not to abuse that safety for as long as they treat you with respect and kindness?

Yes I do! The dragon Pokemon chirped happily. And now it's your turn?

 _"_ _Indeed it is." Diana breathes. "For as long as you are under my protection Latias, I will protect you, feed you, shelter you, and treat you as I would my own sister. I will teach of the ways of my people, and support you as I can. All in return for what you have promised. This, I swear, on the Lasso of Truth."_

 _With that, she unwrapped the WMD from around her and Latias' arms. I stared at her as she did._

 _"_ _Sooooo… can she go?"_

 _"_ _Not yet." Wonder Woman put the Lasso away. "This oath is on the Lasso of Truth, and so it has power. But I need to let the others know first. It is why I said Amazon Nation, rather than Themyscira. I will however, broach the subject to my sisters and mother, and discuss the arrangements. Until that time, she will stay with me as I get to know her better."_

 _"_ _In your house?"_

 _"_ _No." She didn't elaborate, though she did smile. "It will take time. But I will keep her safe from harm." Her smile was soft as she stroked Latias. "She is a young thing. Her and Jirachi. But so much strength."_

 _She looks up at me once more. "It is my honor, to be her new teacher."_

 _Well damn. I think Latias is going to get hardcore._

 **PYJ**

So Latias was with Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter had gone home, and Batman had me under surveillance. My Pokemon and I had been mindraped on various levels to make our transition here both easier and harder. Worse, I was terrified my mind would start to go further. I had already told a 'truth' that I didn't understand, under the influence of the Lasso. What if there was more inside me? More secrets.

And what the memories of my Pokemon and me? Why fuck with our memories so damn much? Are their memories even wrong? Maybe I'm the screwed up one, and I only think I've been living in a modern world without Pokemon?

Worse, what if the things I've decided to warn the Justice League about don't exist? What if Darkseid, for example, is just me mangling Thanos into a DC equivalent.

Everything I know, all my memories, are now suspect.

Wearing the Lasso has helped me understand my soul. It's my mind I'm worried about now.

What if I'm a ticking time bomb, just waiting to blow the heck up? And if I do, what happens then?

I didn't sleep. And I wasn't planning on it.

 **PYJ**

 _ **Omake: An Atrocious Name**_

This world is odd. I know its a new world because of the smell. Humanities hold must be strong here, if the pollution is so soaked into the air.

Walking towards the next town with my partner on my shoulder draws attention. He doesn't care, and so I don't either. That proves better armor against suspicion than an outright lie.

At least until the bank robbery. I went to see what they were using as weapons, curious. I was disappointed to find then using nothing but guns, ling since considered useless. My partner needs no orders when they move to aim at me, his reflexes making them seem to move in slow motion to him.

Four thundershocks crack the air, sending the gunmen down in seconds.

Pathetic.

I turn and walk out. As I do, I drop a Pokeball, now ready to explore.

As Charizard roars and I lift myself onto his back, I can't help but be curious about this world.

Before I go back home, I'll take down their Champion and take his title.

No hard feelings. It's just what I do.


	5. SCIENCE!

It was decided it would be two weeks before me actually meeting the team. Not because of any specific distrust, but to study and prepare me.

See, technically, I didn't exist. But you're smart enough to figure that out. So identification and such were important. Even if I was going to live in Mount Justice, I at least needed that for the future.

And then of course, there were my team and my items. Both of which, for many reasons, were of interest to the scientists of this world.

And last but not least, I had some heroes to meet, which was by far the best part.

The identification stuff was easy. I sat at a desk with a lawyer and a government official and answered a bunch of questions, mostly on where I was born on my Earth and such.

Then came the science stuff. For that, we went to STAR Labs Philadelphia, taking a Zeta tube to enter. Several scientist from both STAR Labs and WayneTech were selected for their expertise in various fields.

The whole thing was pretty cool. While my Pokemon couldn't go outside, they enjoyed being allowed to let loose and show off what they could really do.

In that time, I got my physical done, had an IQ test, and was scanned by dozens of people. While I had no powers of my own except for stunning good looks, they did the scans to see if the Pokemon were somehow extensions of my will, if I was warping reality and that's why they saw me as their leader.

Yeah, like Zapdos was a great listener. And bullshit if anyone could make Chesnaught or Chansey do anything they didn't want. And while Jirachi was adorable, damned if she didn't end up getting into trouble.

The tiny legendary, when surprised by a security guard who was apparently too dumb to respect the superpowered cutie and tried to pinch her cheeks painfully, Body Slammed a 350 pound man through drywall.

I gave her as much candy as I could for that, as the dude was a jerk. Jirachi had been terrified she would get in trouble, but the security footage showed the man had been dumb enough to mess with a being well capable of destroying the entire building.

Yeah, no one felt much pity for him after.

When they figured out I didn't really have powers, the scans began on my Pokemon, as well as the various tests on my technology and the objects I had.

In that time I got to know several of the scientists. While we never really became close, being that the whole program was built to be as brisk as possible to get all the information they were curious about, I got to know most of them. Except for one man, who had been obsessed with the idea of doing exploratory surgery on my Pokemon, and tried to petition to force me to let them.

I didn't break his jaw, but I damn well tried driving with my hip and punching like I wanted to go through him. He was off the project immediately. Whoever the fuck had put his on it in the first place got a serious reprimand.

The rest of the scientists were cool though, even if I kept trying to remember if they were famous in the comics or not. My Pokemon had a good time, and I ended up learning a lot about them.

 **PYJ**

"How are we not affected by Heatran's body heat?" A young woman by the name of Karen Faulkner ("Call me Kitty!") asked me as Heatran purred under her hand. She was about a year older than me, with short clipped black hair and some sophisticated glasses. She was cute, and always kind to my Pokemon. Heatran in particular loved her. "We've done the tests. The magma that makes up her body should be incinerating this room. And yet, she just feels warm."

"I have no idea." I answered. "I think her skin actually acts as a containment suit, with her mind somewhere within her guiding the whole process." I patted her head, which got me a happy bark as Kitty giggled.

"Well, we at least know what the mind inside is like, don't we sweetie?" Kitty rubbed a spot just behind Heatran's mask and immediately got a purr that sounded like a gently flowing magma river.

How can a Pokemon that looks like Heatran be so cute? Now that's a good question.

 **PYJ**

"How do Pokemon attacks work?" A black woman asked as she watched Jirachi slam her tiny form into a steel wall with a shattering boom of power using her Iron Head attack.

The woman was named Sarah Charles. She had a short afro with a streak of red in it, and was polite, if a bit distant.

"Is it psychological, your use of the names acting as a trigger to have them use the abilities? If so, how do wild Pokemon learn these moves without trainers of their own?" She frowned further.

"We've managed to pin down the specific energies each 'type' uses. But there are so many mysteries left."

"Some of the moves are in-born." I answered. "My Pokemon, being raised in captivity, have learned some techniques that aren't native to their biology."

"Wait, so that does that mean that they're DNA is being rewritten to use these moves? Is that why they can use moves outside of their types?"

"I have no idea."

 **PYJ**

"What are the differences between Legendary Pokemon and others?" A balding man with a simple worksuit on asked as he worked at a machine that was measuring Zapdos' energy output.

"Legendary Pokemon often have higher physical and mental abilities than others." I answered as Zapdos preened its feathers imperiously. "Zapdos here has a higher capacity for storing and releasing electricity than most any Pokemon. Of course, with training, the right setup, and some smarts, any trainer can make their own Pokemon match the Legendaries."

"Why are they gifted with so much power?" He asked, trying to hold back his awe. Zapdos apparently matched some nuclear power plants in sheer energy output. "Are they genetically enhanced somehow?"

"At least two that I know of, but they're outliers." I answered, thinking of Mewtwo and Genesect. "As for the rest? There's a lot of legends why they are so powerful." I answered softly. "But most of it comes down to, 'because Arceus says so'. Past that, I don't want to get into it."

Especially considering the fact that would mean describing Arceus in full, something I was nervous about. Not a good idea to describe the Pokemon universe's ultimate trump card.

"At the end of the day, having a Legendary Pokemon is not as big a deal as you might think. Simply having a well-developed team that can work for you, that's the real treasure. I put so many on my team because they cover each other, no more, no less." I said calmly, trying to show the cool calculation of any good trainer.

"Well," I said with a grin I couldn't hold back as I watched Zapdos light up once more, letting a blast of thunder fill the room as other scientists stared in the background. "That and they're damn cool."

 **PYJ**

"So originally Chesnaught had an ability called Bulletproof that protected him?" A middle-aged black man asked me. We were standing at a firing range as I nervously watched Chesnaught standing at the other end. The bearlike knight cracked his neck, bullets deformed from the impacts on his armor like skin surrounding him on the floor as he grinned, flashing his fangs.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure if that's the case anymore." I scratched my neck. "A lot of the Pokemon's abilities are hard to prove without a Pokedex handy. Chesnaught is already hardened against powerful impacts, so proving he has an ability against bullets is hard. Zapdos' Pressure is supposed to fill the area with a powerful oppressive aura, but he does that on his own as is. Latias has Levitate, but that's as much a part of her psychic ability as anything, like how she envelops me in a telekinetic bubble to protect me in flight."

I sighed. "I thought Chesnaught's Bulletproof would be easy, but he treats blades and punches the same anything else."

My running theory is that this universe is somehow changing the make-up of my Pokemon, changing things like Chesnaught's massive defense stat into general invulnerability, and Heatran's Flash Fire into a biological function. I can't tell the scientists though, as it would require a serious explanation on game mechanics.

I'm sorely tempted to tell this specific man, who isn't technically a scientist, but I hold back.

"Thanks for helping out Mr. Irons. I know you didn't want to do this."

"No worries kid. This was fun, and your Pokemon are incredible. Besides, between Jirachi and the guys who used to hire me, I prefer the midget. I'm honestly glad Kala brought me in on this. I think I needed to be remember some good in this world, after the things I've seen."

"And please." The man said with a wide grin as he lifted up and loaded a futuristic assault rifle. "Call me John."

As he aimed the gun at Chesnaught, my partner roared in challenge.

 **PYJ**

"This is actually easy to understand." A young woman by the name of Tina McGee explained with a smile as Chansey and Jirachi used their abilities to heal a cut we had made on a man's skin. Like Chesnaught's Bulletproof, I assumed their healing had been transformed by this reality, allowing them to heal humans as well as Pokemon.

Truthfully I had no idea, as the games didn't show much when it came to human hospitals, but it was a best guess.

"You see," Tina explained, a bright grin on her face. "Studies have proven that accelerated healing works by…"

The rest of it was spent nodding seriously as I tried desperately to follow what she was saying. But basically, both Chansey and Jirachi, as well as my other Pokemon to an extent, can heal or heal themselves by manipulating energy.

What was different was their methods. Chansey only accelerated the healing process and aided in its process, guiding it. Jirachi on the other hand did something closer to magic (They meant that literally by the way), completely reversing the entire incident, which made her harder to declassify.

Despite all this, and the wide range of things they could heal, such as broken bones, cuts, and bruises, their powers could not be widely distributed, making them of limited use to medical science, who prefer results that can be replicated with training and material objects over miracle workers.

I made a note to visit some hospitals in the future.

Chesnaught was just as for me to comprehend, as his Leech Seed and Drain Punch were connected to his physiology, with Leech Seed creating a short range 'bridge' of energy that intercepted the (don't know) of humans, and then transferred the (made up word) in order to heal him thanks to a series of sympathetic (yeah, not going to pronounce that). Drain Punch did the same thing, but only at the point of impact.

I have to say that while the scientists were learning all sorts of cool shit by studying my Pokemon, I was only understanding them in the broadest concepts.

 **PYJ**

"It's more helpful than you think, having a non-scientist with us." A young black man said as he studied Slowbro. Latias was floating above me, watching as we stared at Slowbro.

He looked back at us, most of his body now encased in his Shellder. We were testing Mega-forms, and Latias was up next. He blinked happily at us from inside his shell sleeping bag, head poking out of his Shellder's mouth.

"Slowbro, slow."

The young black man waved a scanner over Slowbro as he measured the energy output. "For example, you have an innate understanding of these Pokemon. Half the questions we've gotten are based simply on you telling us what to look for. And you can never underestimate the importance of having someone who can look at the situation without getting bogged down with what is and isn't impossible."

"You guys deal with that often, huh?" I said sympathetically.

"Oh man, you have no idea. We still have trouble figuring out how Superman or other metas with super-strength can lift up buildings or ships without punching a hole in them, or having the objects fall apart under their own weight."

"Oh, that's tactile telekinesis." I said with a laugh. "You know, they surround it in a force field based on their touch, keeping it together so they can lift it without it tearing apart."

He stopped. He turned from Slowbro, staring at me in shock and amazement.

"…I'm just guessing?" I tried.

Just like that, I accidently accelerated a branch of metascience.

On the other hand, we still had no idea how, and why Mega Evolution worked, because telling them it was based on the power of 'friendship' put very close to the realm of magic.

Baby steps.

 **PYJ**

"These things are impossible." John said, bouncing a Pokeball in his hand as he spoke. Next to him sat Kala Avasti, a friend of his with long black hair, a really beautiful woman. Seriously, every single one of these people were way too good looking. Scientists are not supposed to be supermodels.

No, I was not jealous. Shut up.

He pressed the button and released the sleeping form of Slowbro. When we chose to do test on Pokeballs, Slowbro was the only one to accept, as the others were too active to accept simply getting released and pulled back over and over.

Slowbro just accepted the nap. A zen soul indeed.

"The fact that they only work on Pokemon seems like a safety feature from your world, one we have yet to crack. However the closest thing we have to this sort of technology is the Zeta tubes, and all those do is create an Einstein-Rosen bridge."

"All they do?" Kala asked John with a little smile.

"You know what I mean." He replied with an easy grin. "The Pokeballs only superficially work on similar principles. My best guess is that they turn selected matter, that with the signature of Pokemon, into energy, and stores them in a permanent state of flux. You told us that they each have varying levels ability in catching different kinds, but without wild ones we can't exactly test that. We're still trying to crack the computer controlling them, but the software is elegant."

Kala looks at me. "You said that the software may have been developed with the help of AI?"

"Multiple AI most likely." I said, thinking of the Porygons and their use in the Pokemon universe.

"Explains why it's so hard to crack." John turned to the contents of my bag, which were now spread on the floor. "And then there's this stuff. Which, by the way, is impossible for this bag to hold without being bigger on the inside (Sqeeee). The bike alone, and the way it folds up combined with the lightness of its construction, makes it worth a look. And lets not even get into most of this other stuff, like these evolution stones, the food that heal all ailments, the random junk that makes your Pokémon's moves hit harder…"

"And then we have this." Kala turns and lifts up an object, one meant to be put on a head. "Exp Share. I've only seen something like this once, a creation by a young man I don't like much. It and the TM/HM's are able to download and transfer information, but unlike that young man, the information is permanent."

"Yeah, I might have to leave some stuff for you guys to study." I said with a sigh.

 **PYJ**

"We still need to do more tests, and we're waiting on them to grow, but I have high hopes for the berries." A young blonde woman, a botanist, told me chirpily as we walked through a greenhouse. "We have a chemist looking at the potions you gave us, and it looks like they can be replicated using some of the berries! With enough time, we could replicate dozens of medicines!"

Yep. The berries and the various potions were the most valuable things I owned. They were things I owned that could be _truly_ be replicated, could be used to help people. Enough time, enough work, and more people could be saved by them than anything else I owned.

Just call me the rainforest, because I… bring medicinal plants to people.

Okay, gonna work on quipping.

 **PYJ**

After the week of SCIENCE, I finally got to meet the heroes. Specifically, Wonder Woman intro duced me to a few.

But before any of them, one in particular pulled me into a room, and said the most shocking thing I'd ever heard…

 **PYJ**

"I'm sorry."

"Wait, what?"

I stared at the Batman. **The** Batman. The **Batman.** And he stood there, in the small room in a section of the Watchtower, where he'd pulled me into before I could even look outside.

"I am sorry. For the way I treated you when we first met. I acted irrational, and due to trauma in my own life, lost control of myself, tried to force you into a position where you would have been a prisoner simply because of my anger."

He looked down, face briefly filled with something shocking. Shame.

Oh my god.

"W-Why don't I have a camera phone?"

"Don't get used to it." He looks up and smirks. "I have an image to protect. As well you know. But I am sorry, and I wanted you to know I would make up for it. First, with this."

He turned, pulling a case off a desk. He opened it up, gesturing for me to look inside. I went over, and stopped, blinking.

"I heard about the stories you used to tell. About a legendary hero from your world, who was the first to tame creatures like Zapdos. I did my best to match your description, though I added my own tweaks." He smirked. "I imagine the original costume did not include Kevlar thread and carbon nanotube fibers. Theres a manual, to let you get used to it's features. While it won't make you invincible, it's a step above simply praying not to get hit."

I lift up the red jacket with short white sleeves. "This is… damn."

"Trainer Red." Batman says as I swing the red hat onto my head. "Makes for a good codename."


	6. Tower of Pi-Heroes

"I'm still mad." I told Batman, trying not to geek out at the sight of the uniform. The thing looked so damn cool, and I hadn't even removed it from the box yet.

"Understandably so." Batman hesitated. "How… much do you know about my childhood?"

"Um… I know about… the reason." I motion to his clothes.

"No, not that. About my own love of fiction."

It took me a while to realize what he meant. "Wait, you mean the Grey Ghost?"

"We really need to sit down and find out how much you know about me." He said with a sigh. "But yes. He was an inspiration to me, in a lot of ways. Much as Wonder Woman was to you."

"Wait, how did you know-"

"Latias."

My adorable dragon/jet talks too much about my fanboyness.

"Someone close to me," He hesitated. "I suspect you have some idea who, made me think. If I had appeared in Grey Ghost's universe, if it does exist, with all of the knowledge I have about him, and he had treated me the way I was ready to do to you, I would have felt much the same as you did."

"It was Alfred wasn't it?"

The Batman did not respond to that. "As I said, this is simply a small way to apologize, and show some good will towards you."

I look over the uniform, then begin to take each piece out. He watches silently as I lay them out.

The largest is the jacket. Short sleeved, and reaching down to the knees for extra coverage, it's mostly red, light enough in color to be noticed as such while still being capable of blending into shadows. The short sleeves are more grey than white. The center of the jacket is unzipped, and when closed would reveal a Pokeball symbol like a target on my chest, for similar reasons as Batman's symbol.

"Thanks to the fact it's a jacket, I was able to incorporate flexible armor plating under the weave." Batman explains as I lift the jacket, which is slightly heavier than it looked. "The upper torso of your body should be nearly impervious to small arms fire, though you will be bruised afterwards. Any section of it that does not have the plating still has Kevlar thread and carbon nanotubes, making it both bullet and fire resistant."

"You added a hood?" I asked, lifting up the small piece of fabric at the neck of the jacket.

Again, he ignored me. "For the hat, there are Kevlar panels in the sides and front to protect from concussive blows. The brim of it is also designed to hide your eyes and much of your face in shade, keeping your identity secret, especially if combined with the hood, which has similar protections woven into it."

I lift the hat up to inspect once more. Like the jacket, mostly red and white. Putting it on and looking into my reflection in a mirror shows that it hides my features as promised, requiring me to crane my head far back for anyone to get real details.

"The shirt and jeans are made of the same materials as the jacket and hat, with your boots selected to allow you to fight or run as needed. And finally, we have these."

He pull out a small box and opens it. "Your bags ability to hold a massive amount of items makes it a useful resource, but many of your tools were clearly selected for travel use, not combat. I choose to rectify that."

He lifts the objects out and hands them to me one by one, naming them. A pair of small goggles. "A variation on your goggles. They'll protect your vision in intense environments, the same as your own goggles, as well as provide zoom, night, infrared, and ultraviolet vision."

I had long since gone past freaked out, and all the way to… hell, I don't know. I was getting a bit overwhelmed.

He took out the final piece. A tube-like objects. He handed them to me carefully. "Stun baton. For when your Pokemon are out of reach."

A flick of the wrist extended it, a burst of electricity flashing. "You'll need training of course." He said, flipping the baton around to shorten it once more. "But even without training, this baton could mean the difference between life and death."

"God help me…" I stared at the objects around me, feeling more than a little shocked. "Dude, how much did all this cost? It must have been a fortune!" Then again, billionaire.

He frowned, that frown that makes you want to scream in terror just a bit. "That depends. I was moments from taking your freedom away. How much is that worth?"

Put like that, I suddenly felt very not guilty about the cool uniform. Still, my mom raised me right.

"Thanks. This is… awesome." I tapped the hat on my head, grinning at how awesome I looked. "Oh yeah. Badass."

"Not yet." Batman walked up to the door. "It'll be a while before you can say that."

Well damn. Batman just dissed me. On the other hand, he'd also given me some sweet clothes. Hard to tell if I was winning with him or not.

"Oh yeah…" I said softly. Batman turned around. "I was wondering if maybe…"

When we stepped out, I was wearing the full outfit. Outside were Wonder Woman. And two surprises.

Master! Latias cried happily, rushing forward to circle me. How are you?

I chuckled, rubbing her head as she nuzzled me. "I'm good. How was Themyscira?"

It was great. I felt a warm rush of emotion, happiness, amazement, and sheer joy. Diana's mom is really nice.

"My mother loves her." Wonder Woman said as she walked up to the three of us, a bright smile on her face. "They've spent a lot of time flying together. I've rarely seen my mother so happy."

The pair of us shared a grin at that. Then I noticed the man who had been standing with the two.

"Hi there." He said politely, stepping forward with a smile. "Mahmoud right?"

I nodded.

"I'm the Flash. Though, according to Batman, you know my real name, so…" He took his mask off, blue eyes flashing under blonde hair. His bright red outfit had a simple simple on the center, a lightning bolt in a circle. "I'm Barry Allen. It's nice to meet you."

I tried not to dork out as I shook hands with him. While Diana is bar none my favorite superhero, I can't help but feel an affinity for the Flashes. Especially considering how incredibly powerful they were.

"It's really nice to meet you." I told one of the most powerful heroes in fiction. "I'm a big fan."

"That always nice to hear." He said with a smile. "Diana just introduced me to Latias here. And she says you have six more of these… Pokemon?"

"Yep." I patted Latias, getting a low purr in response as I stroked her feathers, then twisted slightly to show my Pokeball's resting on my hip. "All right here. Oh yeah, that reminds me…"

I grabbed one of the balls, feeling it grow, then tossing it forward. "I promised Jirachi she could get a look around."

In a flash of light, the little Pokemon appeared. She looked around happily, then flew in front of me, saluting the way she'd seen people on TV do.

Reporting Master!

I nodded firmly, trying not to smile at the diminutive genie. "Good. You know the rules?"

Don't touch anything, avoid being seen, only fight back if someone does something I don't like!

I grinned. "Then you are released. Head out!"

In a blur, she flew out into the Watchtower. SPAAAAACE!

"Wait, is he allowed to do that?" The Flash asked, confused.

"He asked for permission." Batman said in response. "I allowed it. Jirachi will listen to his orders."

The Flash stared at him, then shrugged. "Uh, okay. So, how about we show you around kid?"

A tour on the Watchtower? How could I say no?

PYJ

Oh wow… Jirachi stared out the window at the Earth below. The expanse of blue, with such a small amount of greens and browns on the surface. A tiny jewel hanging in space.

The tiny Pokemon giggled. So cool! I wish Rayquaza or Deoxys were here so I could ask them if it was the same for them.

She twisted to look at the Watchtower, but found it less impressive than the view. While the Watchtower was impressive, she'd seen more amazing structures in her long centuries of life. With a sigh, she turned back, amazed, like many before her, by the sight of the Earth far below.

At least until someone noticed her. Walking up, he smiled, standing next to the Pokemon.

"It's great isn't it? I always love watching it." He said, staring out at Earth.

Jirachi nodded, slowly. Yeah. Earth is pretty.

The tall man beside her laughed. "Yeah. Makes me wonder why so many baddies don't see the same thing."

Jirachi looked up at the person next to her. She blinked, her many senses focusing on the enormous man next to her, and seeing the truth of him.

Ohhhh. She said in awe.

PYJ

"So you got dropped off at random?" Barry asked.

I nodded, walking along next to Wonder Woman and the Flash as Latias floated over us. "No idea who did it. And they probably had a reason to do it."

"Huh. That's… ominous." Barry shook his head. "I've read some of the reports from Star Labs. Your Pokemon are amazing. It's hard to think of them as biological. Uh, no offense Latias."

None taken. She replied easily, floating upside down.

The four of us had been taking in the various sights of the tower, like the garden and the main computer hub, where Batman had stayed behind. I noticed he'd kept one screen on Jirachi. Properly paranoid, as always.

"So you've read the reports?" I asked him. "I thought those were under the table or something."

"The technical word is classified." Barry said with a chuckle. "And I had to ask for them specifically. Batman showed me the one on Chesnaught, no more, no less."

"I too find them fascinating." Diana looked at Latias, then smiled. "They remind me of the various spirits of nature I have met. They have the same serenity with nature."

Another reminder that Diana was as much a being of magic as she was of flesh and blood. Latias and Jirachi, the most 'spiritually' powerful of my Pokemon, seemed to feel the same way. I had to wonder if they would react that way to other magical beings.

Yet more questions. Damn, being a superhero is nothing but weird questions.

Just then, two people came around the corner. They'd been deep in talk, which gave me time to study them.

The first was dressed like Robin Hood, his beard neatly trimmed, a bow and quiver full of arrows on his back. The second was a blonde woman, wearing a blue jacket, black one piece, tough boots, and looking like a supermodel with the muscles of an Olympian.

The thought that ninety percent of my future female coworkers are now way out of my league (heh) makes me want to cry.

Green Arrow and Black Canary looked up as we walked over, eyes widening at the sight of Diana and Barry leading us towards them.

"Hey. You two okay?" Barry said as he walked up to them.

Green Arrow looked over at me, to which I responded with a dorky wave, which he returned hesitantly. "Yeah, we're okay. Just dealing with something new in Gotham."

"Wait, shouldn't Batman be handling it then?" I asked, though I stuttered a bit as I did.

"Well, he would, but… I'm sorry, who are you?" Green Arrow asked, confused. He pulled back when Latias poked her head over my shoulder to see what was going on. "And uh, what is that thing?"

I'm Latias! My adorable dragon chirped in our minds.

Arrow pulled back, shocked. "Uh, can you not do that please? Ever. It makes me nervous enough when Martian Manhunter does it."

Mugyuu… Latias said in a disappointed tone, looking a bit downtrodden. I rubbed her neck to try and make her feel better.

"I'm Trainer Red. Diana and Barry were showing me around the tower. I'm supposed to be joining the new team soon."

"Huh. Little old, aren't you?" He said with a pointed look at my beard. Black Canary elbowed him, getting an 'oumph' in response. She glares, then turns a brilliant smile my way.

"Hello. I'm guessing you know me, right? According to Batman's report anyways." She held out her hand to shake.

"Yep. Dinah Lance, badass. You're pretty epic." I told her, shaking her hand as I thought briefly on the Birds of Prey… oh yeah, gonna have to do something about the Oracle situation. Or at least find a way for it to happen without sacrificing Barbara's legs.

"Why thank you." Black Canary said with another million watt smile.

"Wait, this is the kid who knows all our secret identities?" Green Arrow said, stepping over to stand beside Barry and Dinah.

Flash, Green Arrow, Black Canary… Huh, CW poster right there.

"Yes, I am. Sorry about that by the way."

He looked a bit uncomfortable, then perked up. "Oh hey! Then you might know who's going around Gotham taking down perps with arrows."

Gotham? With arrows? Well that was drawing a blank. Except for Arrowette, maybe? She was in the original Young Justice though, and this team had a completely different line-up in a lot of ways. Still…

"I'd suggest looking for blondes with a mom famous for that kind of style." I said helpfully. "Preferably one who stopped for whatever reason. I don't know much more than that, but it should help narrow things down."

Oliver Queen nodded slowly. "Huh. That actually might help. I'll see what I can find that way."

I didn't realize until later how much I'd accelerated certain events. Even accidently, my Meta knowledge had changed things up.

With that little meeting done, the two blondes went on their way politely, Green Arrow still seeming to not like me, or at the least the idea of me and what I knew, much. I was a bit saddened by that, as I always liked him, but I realized I shouldn't have been surprised. It was more than likely I would end up making certain heroes nervous. Somehow, Barry's casual acceptance of me made it seem like things wouldn't be so bad. But I couldn't expect that everywhere.

I was forcibly reminded of that when we entered the cafeteria, and Diana and Flash walked off to let me mingle on my own, Latias flying off to find Jirachi.

Leaving me to grab the food. Which of course, was massive amount of Lasagna. I'd eaten nothing but pasta for the last few days, thanks to an unlimited budget and massive choice of Italian dishes. Thank you Bruce Wayne, for embracing the concept of All-You-Can-Eat.

I had just sat down at an empty table, one of many in the cafeteria, and was eating, when some sat across from me.

I looked up into the eyes of Hawkman. He looked back at me, with my mouth full of delicious pasta. I swallowed my food, shocked at how silent he'd been. Dude was wearing golden armor, how the heck did he sneak up like that?

Not to mention his famous wings, popping over his shoulders to give him a dignified look. His helmet, shaped like the bird that was his namesake, had two glowing white pits for eyes, which were now staring at me.

"Batman tells me…" He said in a slow, deep voice, deep enough to make James Earl Jones sound like an Oompa-Loompa. "That you know the secret identities and histories of all the League. Including alternate versions of us."

I gulped, nodding slowly. "Uh, yes sir. I do."

He grunted darkly. "As a citizen of Earth, I have no jurisdiction over you. However, as a Thangarian Peace Officer, I must tell you that you represent a vast breech of security for my planet. As well as dozens of others in this universe."

"Uh, sorry." I lowered a hand towards my hip, towards Zapdos' pokeball. Hawkman was technically a Flying/Steel, which Zapdos could counter in two directions. So if things went south…

I didn't try to be discreet in what I was doing. He would have noticed anyways. He didn't respond. His hand had been on his mace anyways. "I can promise you I don't want to hurt anyone who isn't a criminal, and only if they aren't willing to be taken away peacefully."

"I know. That, and the presence of my wife behind you, is all that is keeping you safe."

I nearly wet my pants when I felt a small, but strong hand rest on shoulder. Hawkwoman walked around to join her husband, footsteps silent on the metal floor. She gave a smile that was as predatory as it was kind. No idea how, but she did it.

"We, and the Green Lantern Corps, will be petitioning to ask you certain questions later." She said softly.

"Be ready for when that day comes."

Hawkman rose up, and the two walked away. I stared after them, breathing deeply.

It took me a few minutes to start eating again.

PYJ

The next day, when I came back to the Watchtower, I released Jirachi once more. My little munchkin had been fascinated with one of the people she'd met, and wanted to introduce me. It was just me and Jirachi today, as Latias had chosen to stay on Themyscira, and the various heroes were off doing their thing. Apparently the Watchtower was usually pretty damn empty, what with various cases pulling attention from different directions.

Of course, I had no doubt cameras were on me, but it was still a mark of leeway. Though I still kept trying to see if a black cape would flutter out of the corner of my eyes.

Or if a Nth metal mace would be taking my head off.

He's here! Jirachi cried, pulling me towards the man who was waiting for her in the Watchtower library. She though in a whisper. Master, this is Billy, but I'm not supposed to tell you that, even though you already know, so his name is really Captain Marvelous!

She seemed fascinated with the name as she pulled me to a stop. I stared up. And up, cause damn was this guy huge. I thought Batman and J'onn were big, and Diana was even taller than they were, but the good Captain was a giant. He grinned at me boyishly.

"It's great to meet you." He said sincerely. "Jirachi told me a lot about you. She says you're a good person."

"Some days." I said softly, shaking his hand. "It's nice to meet you Captain Marvel."

"You too." He grinned excitedly. "So you know me from other worlds right? What am I like in those universes?"

I didn't wince. After all, I've seen the darker halves of all the superheroes. He was just the first to ask me direct.

"You're actually pretty damn cool." I grinned. "And I know about the whole Shazam thing." I gave him a worried look. "Uh, the wizard guy isn't annoyed about me knowing is he?"

"Nah, he doesn't much care. You don't matter to him as much as other things."

Huh. Okay then.

He's so shiny! Jirachi said brightly, floating around us happily. Right Master?

Shiny? Well, he had the bright red costume with gold trim and a yellow lightning bolt insignia on the chest. The costume also included a white-collared cape trimmed with gold flower symbols, asymmetrically thrown over the left shoulder and held around his neck by a gold cord.

He looked damn regal. But not exactly shiny.

Then again… I looked at Jirachi closely. Jirachi was a Pokemon known to gravitate towards children of exceptional spirit. And Billy Batson was one of the most incredible kids to ever exist. How would he look in the eyes of someone geared towards that sort of person.

I realized I'd stopped talking for a few minutes, and that both of them were waiting for me to patiently get my thoughts finished.

"Sorry about that." I stammered out, chuckling just a bit. "I drifted off."

"No problem." Captain Marvel said gently waving his hand in a dismissive way. "I get it. New world, trying to figure out how things work around here. Don't worry, you'll get it soon."

I cocked my head, then chuckled. "That Wisdom of Solomon is really useful for you, huh?"

He laughed as well. "Yeah, I think I use it more than any of the others. Except for the strength of Hercules of course."

"Yeah, I guess you do spend a lot of time punching things."

"More than I'd like." He sighed. "Baddies are so dumb sometimes. Even the super genius ones. One time…"

I settled in to listen to a few stories as Jirachi rested in my lap, pulling my arms to her so that I was hugging her.

PYJ

Of course, my time on the Watchtower was spent doing more than just hanging out with boy geniuses and getting intimidated by men in animal masks. I also got suggest for new vacation spots.

"Oa?" I blinked I was standing near the viewing window, the spot where one could see the Earth thousands of miles away. "Why would the Guardians… oh, right."

The brown haired man in front of me chuckled nervously. "Sorry kid." He was wearing a green uniform and mask, a symbol on his chest that was reflected on the green ring he was wearing.

Like I have to tell you who the Green Lantern is.

"So I'm getting interrogated?" I asked with a sad sigh.

"If you consent." Hal Jordan seemed a bit disappointed. "I had to beg for that. The Guardians, when they found out, became obsessed with what you might know. It's almost scary how much they want to talk to you."

He had no idea. The list of things I knew about the Lanterns, about the secrets the Guardians kept…

"Does your ring work on yellow?"

Hal blinked at that. "Uh, no. It's the only weakness. Which never made sense, to be honest. Couldn't figure out why."

"I know why." I pulled in air through clenched teeth. "I am not visiting them. If they want to talk, then Ganthet is the only one I'll talk to."

"That…" Green Lantern sighed, rubbing between his eyes. "Kid, they are going to scream their heads off. Well, stoically stare at me while talking in condescending voices. They don't leave Oa, for any reason. You'd have to-"

"Manhunters."

He stopped, staring at me. "What?"

"Parallax. Ion. The Empire of Tears." I looked at him. "I have more. Dozens of them. In universes across centuries. If they want to see me, then they should damn well know why I don't want to do it on their home turf. I don't care if they bring every Lantern they've got. But we talk on Earth."

I sighed. "Sorry man. I'm a huge fan of yours. And of the other Lanterns."

"But you don't care for the Guardians." He said. His brown eyes flashed green for a moment.

"Well, except for Ganthet. He's awesome."

That got a smirk from the Man without Fear. "Yeah. Yeah he is." He turned to look at the Earth. "All right. I'll give the message, even if I have no idea what the hell you're referencing. Not for a while though. I have some cases I need to finish up. Until then, I suggest staying close to the League."

I nodded. Then, feeling a grin rise onto my face, I spoke. "So… you ever play pranks using the ring?"

The wicked grin he gave me was enough of an answer.

PYJ

Later, Chesnaught, me, and Hal Jordan were all banned from being in contact with each other until we had killed all the plants we'd placed all over the tower. That wouldn't be hard, but we three solemnly swore to never destroy our 'art' ourselves.

We'd had Chesnaught use his power to raise the trees, then Hal cut them into the shapes we choose. Chesnaught, when discovering what I wanted him to do, had immediately agreed with a wicked smile of his own.

One was a plant depicting Hawkman mid-chicken dance. Another was Batman with a goofy grin, his insignia now replaced by a Swoobat cheerfully smiling.

I think they would have destroyed the plants anyways, but we'd also made a thirty foot tree statue in the garden of Wonder Woman standing proudly on the destroyed body of a dragon, her lasso around its neck and a smirk on her face.

Diana still told us to cut the trees down, but I'm pretty sure she was laughing on the inside.

As for Chesnaught, the two of us became closer thanks to the whole thing, so I think the net value really came on my side in the end.

PYJ

Of course, my fun had to end. It had only been a week since stepping onto the Watchtower, and while I hadn't met all the League, and some, like Green Arrow and Hawkman, still avoided/glared at me, I had found friends in Barry, Billy, and Hal. Diana was still the one I was closest too, both for the fact we both had Latias, and we often hung out.

She loved hearing about different things her counterparts did. And I loved that I had someone I could talk to, without reservation. She was like the big sister I always wanted.

Just when I was getting comfortable, it was time to move on.

"You're being sent on your first mission." Batman said with no introduction, simply opening the door to my room and entering.

Rude. But then, he was still being a lot nicer these days. In fact, he was actually pretty cool around, even after the whole tree prank.

Didn't mean I hadn't shed a tear when they finally took them down. Except for the Diana one of course.

I looked up from the computer where Batman had me writing down the various problems the League might one day face. It was a project between us, one I had only started today. It was supposed to prevent certain things, or at least let the League know what to do when they came. I'd started with the events of the Gotham Earthquake, an event years down the road at least, and one that could be handled with time.

"Oh. So, I'm meeting the team?" I rubbed my neck. "Cool. When are we-"

"Now. Let's go."

"Wait what!?" I got up, shocked. "I'm not even dressed! You aren't even letting me-"

"You wanted to be a hero." He said firmly. I stopped, looking into his eyes as he looked back. "You will rarely get notice ahead of time for when someone or something requires your assistance. So choose. Will you go, when the information you have could mean life or death, or wait and let others take the pains on themselves?"

PYJ

"Guilting me into missions." I grunted unhappily as I tugged my jacket on, placing my stun baton at my waist. "What a jerk. I wasn't saying I wouldn't help or anything, damn."

"I can hear you." Batman said nearby, typing at the computers that controlled the Zeta Tubes.

"You can always hear me." I grumbled. "I know for a fact you have me under surveillance."

"Not in the showers."

It was a game between us these days, built on our initial meeting. When no one was around, I could gribe and joke with him, sometimes getting a joke in return. He still wasn't friendly, but it was something I had never imagined having with the Batman. A weird sort of thing between us, but I was getting used to it.

He pressed the final coordinates. The tubes came online, and I stepped into them.

"Trainer Red, B07."

On the other end, was the Team. They turned to look at me as I entered.

"Huh. So you're the new guy?" Kid Flash sped over to me, his red hair fluttering in the wake of his speed. He rushed around me briefly. "Huh. Costumes okay, but aren't you a little old for the team?"

He stopped in front of me. "Oh, cool, brim of the hat is made specifically made to hide the eyes, very chic, though still nothing on a mask like mine." He said smugly.

"Damn, not even going to tell me your name kid?" I said, unable to keep from smiling. I always had a soft spot for the rude kids.

He was wearing his yellow suit from the comics, though his had armored sections I couldn't help but approve of.

"His name is Kid Flash." A black man walked up and smacked the back of Kid Flash's head, getting a good natured 'ow' from the younger man. "And I am Aqualad. It is good to meet you."

I looked him over as we shook hands. Tall, well built, wearing a red vest and black pants. His skin was dark, and he carried himself in a confident manner, like he was military. He might have been. He was also barefoot, and had a silver backpack on.

"Nice to meet you too. I can't wait to start learning from you guys."

"Learning from us?" A green skinned girl flew over. "Oh, I'm M'gann by the way, codename Miss Martian." She chirped. Long hours spent in the company of my Pokemon let me feel her psychic presence brush my thoughts very briefly, though she was polite enough to stay out of my head.

"Is it true you have telepathic creatures?" She asked, bubbly excitement in her voice. "Can I see them?" She was shaking my hand, apparently unable to hold in her glee. "Oh, and I'm M'gaan, but I think I said that already."

"Whoa, Miss Martian, try to feel a bit whelmed." The shortest of the group stepped forward, a smirk on his face. He was wearing a red outfit with a black cape and an 'R' symbol on his chest. Robin, obviously. "He just got here and you're already about to rip his arm off."

"What?" She said, confused. Then she looked at me, wincing as the much shorter girl showed just how much stronger Martians are then humans. She hastily released my hand. "O-Oh my god! I'm so sorry, hellooo Megan, I didn't mean to hurt you."

I was forcibly reminded of Latias, Heatran, and Jirachi. More specifically, those moments when they used all the cute they had in their arsenal to try and get me to forgive them for something. She had the same wide eyed look as her bottom lip quivered.

Damnit, I can't get mad at cute.

"It's cool. I promise to introduce you to them soon." I got a big smile in response. "And you're Robin, right?"

"Yep. Take no substitutes." The short kid said smugly. "How you enjoying the new universe?"

Huh. Gonna show off your knowledge. Okay.

"Yeah, but some punk with the last name of Gray-something keeps annoying me." I got a smirk in return, sort of a touche I guess.

"Another universe?" Kid Flash asked, coming around to look at me. "How does that work?"

"How does your super-speed work?" I said back. "We've all got our thing Wally."

"Wait, how did you-"

"Enough already." A figure in the back stepped forward. Tall, heavily muscled, and wearing a black t-shirt. He was annoyed, stepping forward. "Nice to meet you." He said in a barely polite tone towards me. "Now what's the mission."

Batman, who Superboy had spoken to, had been staring at the team talking to me, apparently judging how things were going. Beside him was Red Tornado, one of the Leaguers I hadn't met yet. When he had our attention, he turned and walked towards the center of the room.

"The location of your mission will be here." He activated the computers, bringing up the screens. As he turned, I stared in horror at the name of the location.

"Santa Prisca."


	7. Seeds of Chaos

"This island nation is the primary source of a dangerous and illegal steroid." Batman said.

"Venom." I said softly, drawing his attention. He nodded.

"Yes. The factories that produce it are still running, but shipments have mysteriously stopped. That's where you all come in."

He turned, lifting a finger for emphasis as he spoke. I straightened, trying to listen closely. It was my first mission after all.

Wally on the other hand was staring at a bag of chips nearby, clearly wanting to speed over and grab them. I had to hold back a grin at that.

"This is a _covert_ , recon mission only." Batman said sternly. "Observe, and report. If the League needs to intervene, we will." He turned, and the map of the island now showed to different squares. "The plan requires two dropzones."

"So who's in charge?" Robin interrupted. I had to hold back the sudden sense of Déjà vu, something that came up at times. Red Tornado and Batman turned to look at us, then at each other. Then they looked back at us.

"That's for you to decide." Red Tornado said in his mechanical voice.

Well… that seemed like a bad idea. I was no expert, but I kind of figured chain of command was a big thing in these sorts of missions. I looked around, but none of the younger, more experience heroes seemed to mind the idea.

Maybe it would work out? Damn, I needed some time to think.

"Mahmoud." Batman focused his eyes on me. "When you get to Drop Zone A, I want you to release Slowbro alongside Aqualad as support for him. No need for Mega-form, but keep it simple."

"Yes sir." I said, trying to be professional.

"Slowbro?" Wally said, incredulous. "Is that a thing? What kind of name is that?"

"Like you've got room to talk?" Robin snarked at his friend. "You know what 'flashing' is right?"

"This from the guy named after a bird?" Wally returned with a grin.

"Focus." Aqualad placed a hand on Robin's shoulder. The others calmed, though I saw the pair share a grin.

"Drop Zone B is where the rest of you will land. Make your way to the factory, and avoid conflict. Once you have what you need, report back to us. Dismissed."

The group and walked away. I guess since they were all suited up, there was no need to head to the lockers. I wonder if they were suited from the start, or only because I was coming along.

Questions for later.

I rushed to follow. "So uh, where are we going?"

"To my Bioship." Miss Martian said with a smile. "She's taking us to the island."

"You have your own ship huh. That's pretty dope." I said as I stroked my chin. "I didn't even get my first car until I was eighteen."

"Yeah, about that, how old are you?" Wally asked once more. "I mean, aren't you a bit old to be on this team?"

I couldn't help the spike of annoyance. "I don't know, they told me to go with the team that would me best learn how to do this job. They sent me here. I'm okay with it." I grumbled slightly. "I'm twenty four damnit, it's not that old."

"Wally, be nice." M'gann said with a frown. "I mean, I'm in my forties in Earth years."

"Yeah babe, but you carry it better." He said to her in a 'flirty' voice. She gave him an odd look, but was apparently too nice to actually say anything about the blatant flirtation.

I blinked as we came up to a small floating vessel, the back of it open. The ship was red, with blue insides. "Huh. That is one cool ship."

"Thank you." M'gann said with a smile.

We entered, and I couldn't help an amazed blink when chairs grew out of the floor. "Wow. Mars knows how to make transportation."

"Man, he's flirtier than Wally." Robin whispered to Superboy. Yeah, as a stealth expert, he had to know that whispering is a terrible way to hide your voice. It makes to sharp a noise in the air, while simply lowering your voice carries a lot less.

He did that on purpose. Little prankster Dick.

I sighed at the growl and glare I got from Superboy, and the slightly flattered, mostly horrified look I got from M'gann.

"M'gann, get us into the air please." Aqualad said sternly, but politely. She nodded, placing her hands on two glowing orbs as Aqualad turned to me. "I must apologize. But I would like to take the time on this journey to try and understand your capabilities. It would help us understand how you could best help us."

"Yeah, tell them about your powers." Robin said, laughing. "Or is the beard your power?"

"Only the fact it's magnificent is a power." I returned with a bit of mock arrogance. "But no, I don't have abilities myself. Instead I have these."

Seeing as he would be the first to come out, I grabbed Slowbro's ball and released him. In a flash of light, the pink Pokemon rose, smiling lazily as he did. He stared around, meeting the confused eyes of those around him before seeing me and smiling a bit wider.

"Slowbro." He said in a very declarative tone.

Long practice and a psychic bond helped me understand what he meant, to which I returned with a grin. "Yeah. Time for a fight."

Turned out, of all my Pokemon, Slowbro was the most battle ready. He was relaxed, loved sleeping, and asked me everytime he came out of his Pokeball if it was time to battle.

Confirming it now got a flash of his fangs, and a stretch.

"What is that thing?" Wally asked, shocked at the sight.

"Slowbro. The Water/Psychic type Pokemon. He's the one who'll be joining Aqualad."

"I've never seen an aquatic creature like him." Kaldur said, looking over his fellow water dweller.

"I'd be shocked if you did." I answered.

"A psychic type?" M'gann asked, sounding excited.

"Yeah, he can talk telepathically. Just never finds much reason for it."

"Oh, can I…" I motioned for her to go ahead, and felt her psychic presence widen as she stretched her mind towards Slowbro.

Slowbro looked up at Miss Martian, interested, and the two mentally conversed briefly. As they did, Kaldur turned to me. "You have five more of those… orbs at your hip. Are they more of these Slowbro?"

"No. I have different Pokemon, that's the name of them by the way, for a variety of situations. I'll tell you what I can, but there's a lot of info to dump."

I help back my nervousness. As much as I was trying to act confident, I still had the thoughts of just what we might be in for in my mind.

"And they display a variety of abilities?" Aqualad asked, still focused on the mission to come.

"Oh relax Kaldur." Robin said, kicking his feet up. "He's going to spend most of his time in back getting protected. Just let him hang out while the rest of us finish the job."

Me and Kaldur frowned. What Robin was suggesting was both right and wrong. Yeah, having me back up would be safer for me. But my Pokemon were still useful enough that they shouldn't be ignored as an asset. What I couldn't understand was why Robin was acting like that.

"What are you two talking about?" Superboy asked suddenly, sounding annoyed. He was staring at M'gann and Slowbro, who had been 'speaking' to each other for awhile.

"Hmm?" M'gann looked up at him, then blushed. Slowbro strolled over to me, curling up at my feet, though his Shellder was still staring around with angry eyes. "Oh sorry." M'gann said. "I was just caught up. He has such a strange mind. It's simple, but also a lot more powerful than any other mind I've met in a while. And he has so much to tell me."

"Really?" Kid Flash stared down at the Slowbro now wrapped around my chair and legs like an enormous cat. "But he's an animal, right?"

"As much as you are a monkey." I answered him. "He's a badass, believe me."

"Ha. Yeah, I'll take your word for it." Kid Flash turned away from me. Kaldur sighed, then turned back to me.

"Do you mind if we continue to talk? I'd like to hear more about these Pokemon of yours."

I nodded, then turned to M'gann. "If you want, you can read my mind, get a look at what I'm thinking as I say it?"

The others gave me a shocked look for some reason. I had to wonder why. You'd think they would be used to telepathic conferece. Then again, it was only the constant presence of my psychic types that made _me_ used to it.

"N-No thank you." M'gaan responded, smiling widely. "I need to focus on piloting. But another time would be nice."

I shrugged, unable to see why everyone was freaking out, then blinked when I noticed Superboy glaring once more. "What?"

I got a growl in response, then he turned away. Man, one of the heroes that had practically been my spirit animal back in the day seemed to hate me.

Common feeling these days.

Feeling a combination of confusion and battle jitters that unsettled my stomach, I turned back to Kaldur.

Even as I did, I couldn't help the small amount of excitement I had. Time to be a superhero.

"So, what would you like to know?" I asked Kaldur. Slowbro, still wrapped at feet, lifted his head up and rubbed it on my hand. I scratched his ears.

"What exactly is Slowbro capable of?" Kaldur asked seriously, watching the big Pokemon act like a cat. "As he will be my partner soon, knowing his abilities is a critical concern.

"Water and ice manipulation, telepathic and telekinetic attacks, regeneration when he has some room, durability, and a small amount of electrical manipulation." I sighed a bit. "To start."

Like all my Pokemon, Slowbro had ended up with a lot of abilities he shouldn't have had. The main four were still his strongest, but he had access to dozens of 'moves'. At the least he didn't have Flamethrower or Fire Blast, two moves he could learn in game, but he did have Earthquake. I needed to find a new way to classify what the heck was up with my Pokemon.

"That is a… impressive list." Kaldur said softly.

"You don't know the half of it." Robin mumbled, apparently eavesdropping. "A lot of his Pokemon have like, twenty abilities."

"How do you know about that?" I asked the kid.

He smirked. "Batcave files. I know everything."

I felt annoyed at the breach in privacy, but I had a counter. Later though.

"Yeah, well I can bring a lot to this mission is what I'm getting at." I said as calmly as I could, rubbing my hats brim as I thought.

"I hate to ask, but what about you?" Kaldur asked politely. "I don't mean to be offensive, but can you defend yourself without your Pokemon nearby?"

"Yeah, a bit at least." I admitted. "I've been a boxer, and wrestled in my time. And I was starting some self-defense courses before this mission. But other than that, ninety percent of my strength comes from these little things right here." I said as I patted the balls.

"Well then, why are you even here?" Wally asked bluntly. "I mean, no offense, but why not just send the whatchamons and stay behind?"

Huh. As rude as the kid was, he had a point, from his point of few at least. But…

"My Pokemon and I are a team." I said seriously. "I know how they work, how to place them in battles, and what abilities will help them best. I lead them, and they can take care of business. I could send them on their own. But they're new to this world, and to its fighters. I act as their," I leaned back in my chair, thinking of the right word. "Commander, I guess. That's the job of trainer. To know how their Pokemon work, and figure out how to help them win. That's something they need me on the field to figure out."

Assuming I could figure it out myself.

"Tell me more about them." Kaldur asked.

I shrugged. "Well, Chesnaught is the main 'tank' of my team. He can…"

 **PYJ**

"We're coming up on the island." M'gann said later. I was surprised at how fast we'd gotten to Santa Prisca, but it made sense the spaceship could cross the world in moments.

I nodded, then tried to put on my war face. Probably needed work, but I focused, leaning down towards Slowbro, who looked up at me.

"Follow Kaldur through the water. Watch his back, follow his orders absolutely." I said softly.

"Slowbro." The pink cat said, waving his tail and the Shellder on it as he nodded. I felt his mind brush mine, a sense of reassurance, and cold strength filling me. I pressed my forehead to his, smiling at the sound of his voice as he growled at me.

"That's so cute." M'gann said with a grin. "He really loves you, you know?"

"Aaaand, you made it awkward." I groaned. I leaned back in my chair as Slowbro began to calm his mind for the battle to come.

"What? How?" The Martian girl seemed befuddled.

"Miss Martian, dudes don't like being called cute." I explained with mock seriousness. "We're masculine, awesome, or cool. Never cute." I got a pair of grins from Robin and Kid Flash, and a hidden smile from Aqualad. Superboy gave me nothing, but I didn't mind.

"O-Oh. Well, we're reaching Drop Zone A in thirty." Her voice, confused at the start, turned professional as she nodded to Slowbro and Kaldur.

Kaldur rose up and tapped the 'A' on his belt. And his suit changed from red to black in a twist of color.

"Okay, that is cool as hell." I said as I watched.

"Yeah, about that, what about him?" Robin asked with a wave at Slowbro. "Bright pink isn't exactly the best for stealth."

"I did have my worries for that as well." Kaldur admitted.

I had a solution for that. I shook my arm, releasing the bracelet I wore on my wrist. "He can camouflage in water. Once he's out and in the forest, he can use his sense to track anyone who may come nearby, and just bury himself underground."

"He can do that?" Robin asked, now apparently surprised for the first time.

"Yep. It's a learned ability, Dig. Once you get on the orders, just tell him to stay hidden."

"Putting bioship in camoflauge mode." M'gann said.

We continued on, and soon a hole opened in the bottom of the ship. I watched as Aqualad and Slowbro jumped in, disappearing into the water.

I felt myself breath deeply. Ahead of us, dark and shadowed by both the night and the simple thickness of vegatation, was a jungle.

The earbud I was wearing let me hear Aqualad. _"_ _Heat and motion sensors are patched. They are on a continuous loop. Move in."_

We flew on, and I couldn't help but wince as I felt Slowbro's reassuring presence in my mind disappear. We eventually stopped over the second spot, and the others rose in unison, with me a step behind them as our chairs flowed back into the floor.

M'gann held her hand out and focused briefly, followed by several lines dropping from the floor. I took one and attached it to my belt as Kid Flash activated his own stealth mode.

"How cool is this?" Kid Flash asked Miss Martian with a boyish grin. She smiled back at his enthusiasm.

"Very impressive." She followed by shifting her clothes from a white shirt and blue skirt to a black bodysuit.

"You look like your uncle." I told her, which got a proud grin from her.

"Yeah, not that much." Kid Flash said, obviously focused on something other than her clothes. He turned to Superboy, who really needed a real name eventually. "Hey, Supey, not too late to put on the new stealth tech."  
"No capes, no tights." He said firmly, crossing his arms. "No offense."

I nodded, absolutely agreeing. No offense to the big Leaguers, but I love jeans too much for anything else.

"It totally works for you." Me and Superboy blinked, turning to look at Miss Martian. She had a hand on her chin, staring at him dreamily. She jumped at the attention, stuttering. "I-In that you can totally do good work in those clothes!"

He turned away when she followed up with a little thumbs up. I couldn't help a grin as I watched her blushing embarrassment, small spots of red appearing on her green cheeks before she put on her hood and went invisible.

Young love. Damn, it was a sweet kind of pain.

Teenage drama aside, we dropped down into the jungles below. I made sure to do a Iron Man ground pound as I landed, one hand punching the ground. My cool moment was immediately ruined when Robin looked up, then tugged me back as Superboy smashed into the ground and made a crater.

"Knew I didn't need a line." He said smugly.

"Good for you." I grumbled as I got up off my ass. "Thanks Robin."

"No problem Red." The Boy Wonder said as he helped me up. "Come on. We need to get moving."

I started tapping my Pokeballs one by one as I rose up, reminding myself which was which, then taking out my baton and spinning it briefly in my hand. I placed a hand on the brim of my hat, then reached back and pulled my hood on.

M'gann floated down after us." Aqualad, Drop B is go."

 _"_ _Head for the factory. Slowbro and I will make our way to you by tracking your gps."_ He responded.

"Take care of my boy Aqualad." I couldn't help saying.

 _"_ _I believe you have no need to worry about that."_ Kaldur said in an amused tone. _"_ _He seems to be enjoying the challenges ahead. Aqualad out."_

"All right." I said softly. "You guys are in charge. I'm following you."

"And I'll lead you well." Robin said proudly, turning away. "Come on team."

He rushed into the jungle. The rest of shared a glance, then Kid Flash shrugged and started following at near superhuman speed, M'gann flying after. I held back to run next to Superboy.

"So, does that mean Robin's in charge?" I asked him, confused. The Boy of Steel gave me a glare. I looked back at him, trying not to get intimidated by the kid who could tear a car apart.

Finally he shrugged. "He isn't. But he wants to be." Superboy ran a bit faster, coming alongside M'gann as I paused.

"Huh. Wonder how that will play out." I said thoughtfully. Then I rushed once more into darkness.

 **PYJ**

I was starting to feel a bit exhausted. I'd read a few survival guides, and they all agreed that jungles were the hardest wild terrain to traverse. After the last mile, I had to agree. It was a constant test of focus to keep balance on the rotting vegetation and slippery mud, and only my uniforms unique threads kept me cool in the stifling heat of the jungle, even at night.

The others didn't have the same trouble. Robin had the training, Kid Flash had his speed reaction time, Miss Martian just floated when she had to, and Superboy barreled through things.

It got easier to walk as I went though. All I had to do was follow Robin, who took the best paths, or Superboy, who left a small trail of destruction for me to take.

We had just passed a waterfall when Superboy stopped. "Did you hear that?"

I turned to look at him. "What? What did you hear?"

"Superhearing?" Kid Flash asked. "Maybe someone sneaking up?"

"You do have great ears…" Miss Martian said dreamily to Superboy. Damn, girl was crushing hard.

I turned towards Robin, only to start looking around. "Uh, where'd Boy Wonder… oh hey, so that's what that feels like."

Kid Flash released a long suffering sigh. "You get used to it… actually, that's a lie. It never stops being annoying."

 _"_ _Superboy, Kid, Red. Infared, now."_ Aqualad said, apparently listening in. _"_ _You might be being tracked."_

Damn, things were picking up. I reached into my bag and grabbed the goggles Batman had given me, putting them on as Kid Flash lowered his own pair. We moved forward. I had to adjust briefly for the infared vision, but eventually saw two different groups of heat.

"Looks like two large mobs, converging in the center." I said carefully.

"They'll meet before we show up." Superboy agreed.

The sounds of gunfire exploded in the jungle.

"Well, don't need superhearing now." Kid Flash quipped, lifting his goggles and rushing forward.

"Wait!" I hissed in a whisper, before switching to radio as he disappeared. "Shouldn't we go around!? Covert right?"

 _"_ _Yeah, I just want to find Ro- whoa!"_

Well that ain't good. Miss Martian and Superboy rushed forward. I… froze. I let my sense of nervousness and fear take over, then shook my head and rushed forward.

As I did, I grabbed a pokeball and swept my baton out as my hood fell off and my jacket fluttered near my legs. Imagining how cool I looked helped my fear.

A group of people in red suits were aiming at more standard merc types. I threw the ball in my hand out.

"Chesnaught, hit them with Body Slam!"

In a burst of light, white and green bear roared in the jungles of Santa Prisca, slamming to the group of red robes with a wide, fanged grin at the sight of the poor minions screaming in horror. They screamed as the huge ursine being hit three of them like a train, sending them flying into the darkness

"What is that, a bear!?" Wally yelled is surprise as he ran past, grabbing the guns off two mercenaries as he went.

"He actually has more in common with the Honey Badger." I managed to quip as I ducked back into the trees. "Also, Chesnaught, use Leech Seed a few more times, throw some Spikes, then Drain Punch as much as you can!"

With a roar of agreement, he went into the fray, discharging several seeds at the group, then following up with several spikes about the size of thumbs that flew everywhere. The red robes and mercs turned to fire on him, several getting hit by his Leech Seeds.

He ignored the bullets, instead rushing forward and punching one of the men in the chest, roaring with glee.

"Chesnaught, tone down the strength!" I yelled out when I heard bones break under his clawed fist, wincing at the wet crack. Damn that had to hurt.

He nodded, still grinning madly, and spun on the other red robes as Miss Martian flew by and telekinetically threw another three mercs into a tree.

A few of the red robes were able to dodge him, as he was far from the fastest of creatures, but considering even the largest Earth animals can reach top speeds of dozens of miles per hour, and Chesnaught was built for combat against much, _much_ quicker beings, he still knocked a few people down like bowling pins.

The Spikes he unleashed turned the battlefield into a minefield, forcing everyone else to step carefully. Miss Martian easily floated over the sharp stones, Kid Flash stepped around them at high speed, and Superboy simply barreled through them as he threw a massive man back from him with ease.

Another group came up on the left, only for two of them to be lifted by telekinetic force and sent flying. M'gann stopped in shock at the sight.

"Wait, I didn't do that. Who did that?" She said, shocked.

The answer came when Slowbro popped out of the ground with a bark, slamming into a merc and landing on top of him. He barked once more as spun around and swung his tail, using his Shellder like a bludgeon and sending another merc to Painland.

The other bad guys spun on him, aiming at Slowbro, only for three to get railroaded by Kid Flash, followed by Robin dropping down on top of two others. Slowbro too use Hydro Pump, blasting a group of four red robes with a blast of water from his mouth that sent them flying.

It was at that point, while the heroes and Pokemon were taking the mercs on, that I was noticed. A merc, a large man with a snake tattoo on his neck, saw me and rushed towards me, apparently thinking I was a great target.

"Oh snap!" I yelled, frantically pulling back. Then I noticed him going for a pistol.

The rest of the battlefield didn't exist now. All there was, was me, the merc, and the forest. And a gun that was being reached for.

Strangely, I thought of Red. Not the one from the games, but one from a story I'd read. In it, he'd described close quarters combat as a goal oriented mission. Decide on the goal, and do everything to achieve that goal, using everything you had to push for it.

I had to take him down, before he could reach the gun.

I rushed forward, slamming into his chest with my shoulder. He let out a breath, then pushed me back and punched me in the face.

I'd boxed for a full year, fighting all sorts of people in both spars and competition. And no one, not even people with dozens of pound on the merc, had ever hit me that hard. I fell back dizzily as he grabbed my shirt and punched me again, holding me in place.

He laughed, going for another punch as I blearily stared at him through tearfilled eyes while blood poured from my nose to enter my mouth.

Then I pressed the stun baton I'd palmed to his chest.

He screamed, falling back as he kicked me away, probably cracking my ribs with his right steel toed boot. Another blaze of pain nearly made me black out, but I pushed through it.

He was able to hit a hell of a lot harder than anyone else I'd fought. But pain is still pain. And I could push through it enough to hit him with the baton once more, this time in the face.

He fell back, body shaking from the electricity, then reached for his gun.

Aqualad grabbed him, picked him up, and poured even more electricity into him.

Kaldur discarded the merc and hurried to me, pulling my arm onto his shoulder as he groaned. "Trainer Red, are you all right?"

"No," I groaned unsteadily. "I'm feeling very _left_ about now."

The little joke got me a laugh as he helped me to the others. Robin had shown up apparently, and they were all gathered in the center of knocked out mercs. He looked up, then blinked at the sight of me.

"Dude, you okay? What happened?" He asked as Chesnaught and Slowbro came over to Kaldur and me, carefully hovering around me.

"I-I got a lesson on how hard people in this universe can hit." I stammered out. "N-Need Chansey."

I reached unsteadily for her ball, only for Slowbro to grab her ball for me telekinetically, floating the ball over to himself to press the release button.

In a flash of light, Chansey appeared, looking around. At the sight of me she cried out her name and rushed to my side as Aqualad laid me back on the wet forest floor.

"Dude, you have a thing for pink or something?" Kid Flash joked, though it didn't hold as much snark as earlier.

"R-Real men… have pink Pokemon." I managed to growl out, before crying out in pain.

"Are you going to be okay?" M'gann asked softly, floating over us.

"Chansey." The small ovoid Pokemon said firmly, answering her question. Then she held her hands out over me. "Chan…" Her black eyes turned green, and an aura like a rainbow briefly surrounded her. "Sey!"

A green energy flowed over my body. I cried out as my nose snapped back into place, and my rips shifted. She released another Heal Pulse, and I sighed in relief as the pain disappeared.

Moving slowly, but feeling amazing, I shifted up and grinned. "Okay. That was cool."

"Whoa." Robin said. He gave Chansey a look. The pink healer was waddling off, moving towards the mercs. "Hey, what's she doing?"

I rose up as Chansey turned back towards us, then authoritively said her name, pointing at the mercs. Chesnaught sighed in resignation and walked forward, followed by a relaxed Slowbro.

"Um, what are they doing?" Kid Flash asked.

"Chansey wants us to tie them up so she can heal the more wounded ones." I explained.

"Huh. Good idea." Robin said. "Especially considering how badly your Pokemon hurt some of these guys." He gave me a critical look. "Also, a bear roaring in the jungle? Not the stealthiest noise."

I stared at him, then sighed. "Yeah. I'll do better next time."

"You did all right." I looked up in surprise at Superboy, who shrugged. "For your first time I mean. And I like the bear."

"Uh, thanks."

"Yeah, it was pretty cool!" M'gann chirped. "And you have a healer too? How does she do that?"

"No idea." I answered honestly. "I'll show you the notes later."

"Come." Kaldur interrupted. "We need to get them tied up."

I moved with them, after picking up my dropped baton and feeling pretty good. I got my ass kicked, and damn that was scary, but my Pokemon had been awesome. One step forward at least.

 **PYJ**

"I recognize the uniforms." Robin explained later as Chansey healed the broken arms on one of the red robes. "Cult of the Kobra."

"Those religious nuts who worship that one guy?" I asked as I tightened another knot on a merc, who glared at me as he growled in Spanish. "Then again, that's a lot of cults."

I looked up as the merc said something about my mom and dogs, and resisted the urge to have Zapdos charbroil him.

"The Cult of the Kobra however, are dangerous extremists. And Batman would have mentioned it if their leader was running Santa Prisca." Kaldur responded to me.

"Because they don't run Santa Prisca." I had finally looked to the side, at one of the men in particular. A huge behemoth of muscle who I'd earlier seen Superboy toss aside. A man in a black and white mask.

"His name is Bane." I said softly as the others came alongside me. I stared at him, shocked that I'd somehow missed my biggest reason to fear this island. "The 'King' of Peña Duro."

"In the flesh." He said proudly in a South American accent. "It is good to be recognized. Though I wonder 'Barba' how you know of my time in Peña Duro."

"He knows things." Robin answered for me, stepping forward. "Talk. What is the Cult of Kobra doing on the island? What are they using their factory for?"

"Making supersoldiers probably." Kid Flash said impatiently. "Shouldn't we be telling Batman about this now?"

"These soldiers aren't on Venom, KF." Robin answered him, turning to walk up to his friend. "I need to dig deeper. We stay."

"Wow, way to make to the decision for us, _Rob!_ " Kid Flash spat out, apparently annoyed.

"Well someone has to!" Robin spat back.

"Okay, not getting in the middle of that." I turned to Chansey, Chesnaught, and Slowbro. "Chansey, you good?" She looked up and nodded, content. "Good. Come on back guys."

I held out their Pokeballs and put them in with three flashes of red-white light, then joined Miss Martian and Superboy to watch the fireworks.

"What kind of leader just disappears and leaves his team hanging!?" The black-clad speedster complained, pointing in his friends face. Robin smacked the finger aside and scoffed.

"Better than the one who breaks cover before the first hour of the mission!"

"Don't either of you want to lead?" Miss Martian asked me and Superboy hesitantly.

"Nope." I said simply. "I'm good with my Pokemon. Besides, I'm new guy. This is more about you guys right now."

"And I'm okay just hitting things." Superboy answered bluntly. "You?"

Miss Martian lifted her hands up as if warding away the idea. "After the Mr. Twister fiasco?"

"You did all right." Superboy had a smile on his face, for the first time since I met him.

Miss Martian blushed heavily and ran a hand through her hair as I watched.

Damn, kid is few months old and he still has more game than me. Must be the Kryptonian DNA, since most of them tended to be babe/stud magnets.

As I was musing on the whole thing, Kaldur walked up to Bane. "You ruled this island. The factory is yours. How much do you know?"

"Volumes." Bane returned smugly. Robin and Kid Flash stopped fighting to come over to listen. "I'm very well read. Let me show you. Via my secret entrance into the factory."

"No!" I yelled, now terrified. The others turned to me. "He has a plan. He's using us. If we let him go, the chances of things going wrong go way, way up."

"It's nice to be respected." But Bane seemed to smell my fear. He looked eyes on me, smirking. I once again resisted the urge to summon a Pokemon to smash in someone's head, instead looking away. He chuckled at my response.

"There is a secret entrance…" M'gann said, lowering to meet eyes with him. "But he _is_ hiding something, just like Red said."

When her eyes glowed white and her psychic presence grew stronger, Bane smiled just a bit wider. "Sorry Chica. My mind is off limits."

M'gann shook her head at that, then the glow in her eyes vanished. "He's screening me out with Futbol scores! And Espanol!" She gave us a puppy dog look. "This could take awhile."

"What If my Pokemon helped?" I asked, stepping forward. "Just smash past his defenses and scoop out the info?"

"Not without possibly driving him insane." She said sadly.

I held back on telling her I didn't mind the idea too much.

"It's simple nino's and barba." Bane's voice was confident. "The enemy of my enemy, is my friend." His smirk twisted his mask. "I help you. And you take down Kobra. Win," His voice was slow now. "Win."

"No." I turned to the others. "We can do this on our own. We don't need… _him._ "

The others stared at me. Then Kaldur stepped forward, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I understand your concerns," Not without reading _Knightfall_ he didn't. "But we _need_ information. We need him."

I stared into the younger mans eyes for a moment, then at the others. Robin and Kid Flash looked impatient. Superboy didn't care. Miss Martian looked at me, then at Bane, who simply waited smugly.

Then I looked at the merc who'd nearly killed me. The thought of how close I'd come to dying chilled me. I lifted a hand to the brim of my hat, pulling it lower down.

Then, slowly, I nodded.

And fingered Zapdos' Pokeball all the while.


	8. Forces of Nature

We untied Bane and started off into the forest. As we did, Robin pulled alongside me, letting the others past.

"So I read your file." He said softly, keeping his voice low. "You've seen other versions of our universe, right?" He whistled lightly when I nodded. "Pretty cool. What am I like?"

I thought about that. I had my suspicions that he was Dick Grayson, considering how young this universe was. And Dick Grayson, no matter the universe…

"You become one of the greatest superheroes in history." I told him carefully as we leaped over a log, still following Bane and the others. "After some rough times. Hard moments. But you keep true to yourself. Even get married."

"Really?" He seemed intrigued. Then he gave me a more serious look. "And Bane."

I stopped. He took me by the elbow, this short young man, guiding me to keep moving. Finally I spoke.

"In some universes, he becomes a hero one day. Even works with Batman. But no matter the universe, he is usually the one and only man, who 'Broke the Bat.'"

Robin's turn to stop, this time in shock. "He kills Batman?" He asked softly.

"No. But he does beat. And however brief it was, it resonated throughout history. That is why he scares me. He is intelligent, focused, and very powerful."

"We can handle him."

The confident comment got a smile from me. I couldn't help but like Robin. He had a confidence at his age that let me really understand how he became one of the greatest heroes in history.

He'd still lose in a fight against Peter Parker of course, but I liked him.

Just then we came up to a cliff. Bane stepped aside to let us look over the cliff. I hung back while Robin went forward, keeping an eye on Bane in case he tried to push someone over. I kept one hand on my baton, and the other near my Pokeballs.

He noticed. "It's rare, that someone from the states knows of my history." He said casually. "How is it that you do Barba?"

"I read a lot." I said softly. Even though the brim of my hat kept my eyes hidden, I still felt like he was looking into them.

"Really? So do I." He turned and walked towards a random rock. "I did a course on structural engineering." Then he picked up the rock and tossed it aside, revealing a tunnel. "Never finished, but I learned a thing or two. Come."

Kid Flash said something, but I kept my focus on Bane. We stepped into the tunnel, and walked for a while. Eventually we reached a door, and he smugly pressed a button that made it slide open.

Dammit, he did everything smugly. He couldn't keep that smirk off his face. I was starting to leave fearing him and going straight into just disliking the man.

Robin entered the next room first. When we came onto the factory floor, which had enormous vats all over the place for creating Venom, Robin had disappeared.

"Has that little fool already been caught?" Bane hissed, apparently as annoyed as the rest of us.

"No, he just does that." Kaldur said in the voice of the long suffering.

"Stay put," Kid Flash said cockily, placing his goggles on. "I'll get our intel and be back before the boy wonder!"

"Wait, Kid!" Kaldur called out.

Too late. Just like that, two of the team were awol in a unknown location.

"Great chain of command." Bane grumbled.

Okay, really hated Bane now. M'gann, Superboy, and Aqualad shared a look. I growled slightly as I walked around Bane, trying to keep my cool. The anger felt good. Better than the fear.

I was always more of a Red Lantern kinda guy anyways. Might as well embrace the anger for a moment, use it to push me.

The five of us moved towards some boxes, ducking behind them before poking our heads out. It was kinda of fun going all covert, sneaking past guys. I was getting Deus Ex flashbacks.

We poked our heads up to see out the enormous doors to the factory. On the main floor, the Kobra minions were stacking boxes and moving them in position with forklifts.

"I'm no expert, but that seems like a lot of drugs." I said carefully.

"Indeed." Aqualad knelt closer to the view. "They must be planning to transport a massive amount of Venom."

"If they are, why leave these?" Superboy asked, tapping the boxes were leaning on.

"Maybe they got contaminated?" I suggested.

"No," Bane shook his head firmly. "I created these myself. They are all clean."

So what was different about these? Dammit, my comic book knowledge didn't cover this. If I'd had my Young Justice knowledge…

"Helicopter's coming." Superboy looked up as he spoke, focusing his eyes in the distance. A quick tug of my goggles let me zoom in to see it.

"Transport? Or the buyer?" I asked.

By the way, doing the spy thing felt very, very cool. Sneaking in, trying to put together the clues, preparing for enemy assault. I don't drink, but I was damn tempted to reach for a martini.

The helicopter landed, and a man came out. I zoomed in on his face to see… a hockey mask? Armor on his left arm and shoulder, a purple vest, blonde hair… I had no idea who this guy was.

He stepped out and walked forward as te Kobra's stood as his honor guard. Three people came to join him. One more in a hood, pale-skinned. A woman, very athletic with orange hair that was shaved on one side to reveal a tattoo. And a mammoth of a being that followed, with hair the same color as the woman, though he was several feet taller and hundreds of pounds heavier.

As they began to meet in the middle, M'gann put her hood on and floated out towards as she went invisible. We moved to a different area, trying to get a safer spot as more Kobra started moving, and found ourselves on a walkway.

Aqualad, sending an image of the buyer now. M'gann said, sending him a picture of hockey mask.

Kaldur looked up at me and Superboy, slightly surprised. "Sportsmaster?"

Oh good. That one joke villain. One of the lame ones that popped up in the old days. Like the Walrus and whatnot.

Kaldur didn't seem to share my relief. "He's the buyer!?" With that hiss, he tapped his earbud. "Aqualad to Red Tornado, do you read?"

Static. Which meant the safety net was gone. We were, for all intents and purposes, alone. I gulped.

"Jammed. Can't reach the League, Robin or Kid. We need a plan, now."

"I have a suggestion." Bane said with a smirk. As he leaped over the edge of the walkway to land almost on top of Kobra, I gave Kaldur a look.

"I hate that guy."

"I'm beginning to feel the same." He told me.

Then a monster flew through the window, and Superboy grabbed me and leaped away before I could get turned into paste.

Superboy and Aqualad landed gracefully getting ready for battle. I landed on my ass, and rolled around as I wheezed in pain.

The beast of a man roared, after he landed in front of us. I got to my feet, launching a Pokeball. For the second time that night, Chesnaught appeared, and roared in challenge.

The two roared out in the warehouse, images of the distant past in a symbol of progress. While the monstrous being sounded like a human being's voice being modulated to be more animalistic, Chesnaught's voice was a deep echo, of a place where savagery ruled, and dominance was more than a word.

We stood there briefly, facing off against each other. Then Chesnaught and Mammoth, because what else could I call him, charged towards each other. As they slammed into each other, a brief shockwave echoed, sending dust flying from the burst of impact. I raised my arms up and set my legs, trying to keep the shaking earth and brief wind from pushing me back.

As I grit my teeth, my lips slowly stretched, hidden beneath my head and hat. "Heh. Awesome."

Chesnaught and Mammoth grappled for position. "Chesnaught, put Leech Seeds on him, then Spiky Shield!"

Small seeds flew onto Mammoth. Then Chesnaugh grinned, that damned amazingly impish grin. And as his fists slammed into each other, his armored greaves turned into a shield.

And then dozens of spikes slammed into Mammoth's chest, growing from the shields like rockets.

The brown creature roared in pain. He hadn't been pierced, but spikes that tough slamming into skin will hurt like hell.

Then I had to duck back when people started shooting at me. The Kobra's apparently trusting their monster to handle Chesnaught, starting shooting at me and Kaldur. I ducked behind a post while Kaldur made a water shield, returning fire with pulses of water as bullets bounced off his shield.

Superboy rushed forward to aid Chesnaught. As he came forward, I saw Mammoth adjusting his grip, getting ready to throw Chesnaught at Superboy.

Oldest supervillain trick in the book, use a hero as a weapon.

"Chesnaught, Crunch!"

At my call, Chesnaught barked out a laugh. Then his fangs were enveloped in dark power, followed by him sinking his teeth into Mammoth's shoulder. Mammoth roared in pain once more, adjusting to punch Chesnaught in the stomach.

Another roar split the air as Superboy leaped up and punched Mammoth in the face. Even Mammoth and Chesnaught tackling each other hadn't been as loud as the massive force Superboy unleashed with that blow, sending the big bastard flying like a bullet from a gun.

"Okay, that was awesome." I breathed out. Then more bullets hit my cover. "Okay, forget that." I spat out, already annoyed by the sounds of bullets.

"Red!" Kaldur barked as he kept his eyes on our enemies. "Bring out one of the Steel-types as support!"

I'd already been on it, but I was surprised at how quickly Kaldur had adjusted to the concept. With a press of a button, another Pokeball snapped open.

Jirachi appeared. She looked around, then smiled, saluting me. Fight time!? She asked excitedly.

"Yep!" I yelled over the gunshots. "Hit the red ones with Iron Head!"

Okay!

The midget flew around the post I was using for cover, a cheery grin on her face as she giggled. The battle stopped for half a step as everyone but Chesnaught watched the odd sight of a tiny flying white doll charge across the battlefield, enveloped in a silver aura.

Hi, I'm Jirachi!

Then she slammed into a Kobra hard enough to send him flying thirty feet, where he didn't get back up.

The other Kobra's fired on Jirachi as she dived in and out, cheerfully asking the Kobra's why they were all dressed the same as she smashed them with her body and ignored the weak bullets slamming into her steel skin.

A bunch of the Kobra's flying into the air in screaming masses for no reason heralded the return of an invisible Miss Martian.

Oh wow, you guys can fly too!? Jirachi cried, delighted at the very thought. Chesnaught roared at her with an irritated look on his face as he and Superboy ran by, both shoulder-tackling Mammoth into a massive tank. Sorry, I forgot! Body Slam!

The battle resumed as Kaldur startled dueling with his opponents, taking the distraction made by Jirachi and Miss Martian to pick off the bad guys, the tide turning in our favor.

I grinned, turning my head to the side.

Just in time to see Bane chuckle to himself and run away.

…What?

Seriously, what!? That was it!? That was his grand plan!? Have us fight his battle for him!? It made sense, sure, but he hadn't even done anything. He had been so smug, I was so positive he was planning to take the Venom himself or something, so he could take us out himself! This plan may be simple, but it also left way to many openings damnit!

Or something. I felt like there were good parts to his plan, but none of it matched the sheer menace and power he was known for. Way too much of the plan seemed left up to chance, none of it really in his control. He just pushed us together and hoped for the best.

It just didn't fit my image of him. Bane in the comics had pitted the Arkham inmates against Batman for weeks, weakening him bit by bit, all while controlling things from the shadows, before moving in for the kill.

Compared to that… this plan was so lame.

As I was feeling cheated for reasons I could barely understand, an explosion sounded out, and two cries went out, one in my mind.

"Jirachi!" I called out, spinning to see her and M'gann go flying. What the hell had happened? Who'd-?

A man grabbed my shoulder, spun me around, and punched me in the stomach. Pain exploded in my abdomen.

"Huh. Nice armor plating." A man with an accent I couldn't place said. "Say thanks to your tailor."

He grabbed me by the neck and slammed me up against the post. Sportsmaster took my baton off my waist and threw it aside, then my Pokeballs.

As I tried not to scream in pain and anger, he chuckled, eyes crinkling in pleasure behind his hockey mask. "You're in charge of those things out there right?"

When I answered, he shrugged. "Ah, whatever. Let's see what killing you does to them."

He spun a sharp spike into his hand, raised it up to stab on top of my head, and Kid Flash slammed into him, sending him flying.

"Come on, get into cover!" Kid Flash barked, pulling me along. I swiped up my Pokeballs as my stomach screamed, leaving Sportsmaster to slowly get up.

"Twice today I almost die. Damnit, I should have worked out!" I coughed out.

All of a sudden, Miss Martian's voice was in my head. Everyone online?

One sec. A loud thwack sound filled the air, then Superboy roaring. Another thwack, and Chesnaught barked in glee. I'm here. Superboy finally thought.

Same here beautiful. Kid Flash projected.

Almost died again. Getting used to that. I said as I leaned next to Kid Flash. I'm with Casanever.

Pssh, like you've got room to talk. Kid Flash returned snarkily.

I know who you fall in love with! I returned angrily. In retrospect, a very lame retort.

Enough! Aqualad thought. Regroup, now!

Busy! Robin returned.

I had a sudden thought. M'gann, bring in Jirachi and Chesnaught.

Oh right, here! She replied, followed by two familiar minds.

Hey Master, Master's new friends! Jirachi chirped. Are you having fun?

Chesnaught didn't speak, but I could feel his grim determination as he and Superboy kept Mammoth pinned.

Jirachi, use U-Turn and pull back, now!

Awwww. Obediently, if sulkily, Jirachi slammed into a group in a spinning daze, giving her enough room to run off and sneak over to me.

Robin, now! Aqualad barked.

I poked my head out to watch the battle.

Mammoth threw Chesnaught off him, and tried to punch my Pokemon's head off, only for Chesnaught to block it with a Spiky Shield. As Mammoth roared in pain, Superboy shut his mouth with an uppercut, which Chesnaught followed with a Drain Punch. The monster staggered, and Chesnaught and Superboy shared a look.

"Wood Hammer!" I roared, seeing the moment.

With a roar, Chesnaught's right arm was surround in green energy. He reared back, Superboy alongside him.

A Kryptonian fist and the force nature itself smashed into a massive chest like hammers driving nails. Mammoth was sent flying. He was airborne for a while, then he slid, rolled a few times, and finally came to a stop, unconscious.

"Yeah!" Superboy called out.

"Chesnaaauuught!" The Spiky Armor Pokemon roared in agreement.

Whoa! Robin said as he dropped down to meet us from the rafter. That was awesome! You guys kicked his butt!

But we can't handle every soldier, not without a plan. Aqualad declared as reinforcements poured in. Retreat. Kid, Red, clear a path.

"Jirachi, Dazzling Gleam on the ones on the right!" I shouted while Jirachi floated alongside me.

Woohoo! She released a pulse of white power at the enemies in front of our exit, sending them back to the ground, and Kid Flash railroaded the rest.

We entered the tunnel at a run.

Red, you said Chesnaught could manipulate the earth, have him close the tunnel. Aqualad told me.

"Chesnaught, Stone Edge to block the tunnel!

Chesnaught stopped and spun around, slamming his palms onto the ground. Between us and the Kobra's, enormous shards of stone as big as Superboy rose up in tunnel, rushing outwards from Chesnaught to slam the incoming guards. Chesnaught roared and the stones rose higher, closing out the tunnel.

The whole thing began to rumble, and we backed away as the ceiling fell on the Stone Edge wall, further closing us off.

PYJ

"Thanks guys, I'll call you again soon." I told Jirachi and Chesnaught. Chesnaught looked comically huge in the small space, and only gave an appreciative nod at being able to leave the tiny space.

Jirachi was more nervous, apparently sensing the down attitude. Are you sure Master?

"Yeah. I'll call you soon."

The doll-like Pokemon nodded slowly. Chesnaught turned and growled at Superboy.

"Yeah, you too." Superboy said, apparently understanding the sentiment. The pair smirked at each other before I put Chesnaught and Jirachi back in their balls.

A loud snap filled the dark cave, then red lights came on. Robin was kneeling before the wall of solid stone, looking depressed.

"I can't believe my first mission as leader went so badly."

"You do have the most experience." Aqualad cracked to litebrites of his own. Kaldur's voice was soft, and filled with a sense of duty. "Perhaps that is exactly what has left you unprepared. Fighting alongside Batman, your roles are defined. You two do not need to talk."

Aqualad cocked his head. "But this team is new." He shot a look at me. "And constantly shifting. A leader must be clear, explicit. He cannot vanish and expect others to play parts in an unknown plan."

"Oh, so I'm supposed to hold everyone's hands!" Robin yelled, spinning around. Then, he looked down at the ground, seemingly resigned. "Who am I Kidding? You should lead us, Kaldur. You're the only one who can."

Kid Flash scoffed. "Please! I can run circles-"

"Wally, come on" Robin interrupted his friend. "You know he's the one. We all do. He even knew how to use Red's Pokemon when he had to. He had less info than I do on Red's Pokemon, and he still knew where they could help while the rest of us were still figuring out what they even were. He's the one."

"Huh. The Boy Wonder speaks true." I couldn't help but say, stepping forward. Kaldur, in a single plane ride, had retained enough information to tell me to drop a specific type of Pokemon, and knew to use Chesnaught to close off the tunnel.

Simple, but signs of good judgement and leadership.

"Hello Megan!" Miss Martian said, facepalming. "He's right!"

Superboy didn't say a word, simply smiling as he crossed his arms and nodded. Kid Flash sighed, but didn't really look like he minded.

"Ok."

Kaldur looked at us. While his face showed his usual calm, but he also seemed honored. He stepped forward, nodding.

"Then I accept the burden." He placed a hand on Robin's shoulder. "Until you are ready to lift it from my shoulders. You were born to lead this team."

"Huh." Robin looked over at me, smiling. "Am I really?"

I grinned. "Always. One way or another."

"Good enough for me." Robin looked up at Kaldur. "So, what's next?"

Kaldur nodded, then thought for a second. "We need to stop that helicopter from leaving with the shipment."

"Already done." Robin was smug. "Sabotaged the 'copter before I joined you guys."

"Good job." Kaldur's eyes hardened. "But we must go farther. The Kobra's must not be allowed to continue to produce their new formula."

He turned to me. And I gulped at the hard look in his eyes.

"We use the element of surprise." Aqualad did something that wasn't a smirk, and wasn't an insane grin. "And then we go loud. Starting with Heatran."

PYJ

We started running after putting a few things in motion. We were all mentally linked, and having a conversation at the high speeds afforded by telepathy.

I was the one 'speaking' as we ran.

Kobra is way to focused on their religious worship, and Sportsman, Despite that he was apparently a badass in this universe. Is strictly a lackey. He does things for money, he doesn't come up with big plans or make plans.

He also isn't a scientist, which is what you need to come up with a formula this big. Robin continued from there. So there's something bigger here.

That's when I saw him. At the end of the tunnel, waiting for us.

Bane. Surrounded by empty syringes and looking a few hundred pounds of muscle bigger.

My eyes narrowed. Can we do it now?

Not yet. Kaldur answered. Kid, stand ready in case he has a trap prepared.

Wally nodded sternly. We'd come up with something after I told them how Bane ran for it.

As we came to a stop, Bane stared at us with that smug look on his face. "Halt,niños. I'm feeling… explosive."

He lifted his hand dramatically, showing off the remote in it as several explosive charges around the entrance glowed, all while Kid Flash zoomed forward and snatched the remote out of his hand.

He stood there briefly, looking dumbfounded at his hand. Then he turned to look at Kid Flash.

"What do you think?" Wally asked as he leaned against a tree, a cocky smile on his face while he waved the stolen remote at us. "Souvenir?"

"Gragh!" Bane rushed at Kid Flash, only to lift up into the air. He looked at us, shocked.

"Huh, he's heavier than I thought." M'gann noted as she, Superboy, and I moved forward.

"Toss the remote, Kid." I said slowly, staring up at the now pissed off Bane. "I have a better souvenir in mind."

I grinned. "After all, a disgraced Luchadore… will lose their mask."

Wally's eyes widened, and his smile became something devious. Bane stared at me in horror as I smiled up at him.

"Drop him." Superboy declared happily.

Bane met with a fist capable of shattered titanium, and went out like a light. I reached down, unzipped his mask, and threw it over to Wally.

"We'll clean the sweat off when we get home." The Speedster said as he placed it in a pouch.

"For now, tie him up." Kaldur declared. "Red, release Jirachi and Slowbro to go with us, and Chansey to move on her own, while you move to the factory for your job. We will play distraction."

I nodded, then released the three of them. The ovoid, tiny doll, and cat-like Pokemon were immediately brought into the mindlink, and I told them to go with the others and follow Kaldur's orders, with Chansey moving on her own, getting agreements in response.

With that, we split up. However, I was surprised to find Robin going with me. "Uh, what's up?"

"Eh, figured you'd need some help sneaking in." He said with a grin. "Besides, I like the young guy and old guy going off on a mission together. Balances things out."

"I'm not old dammit." I grumbled as we disappeared.

PYJ

On my own, I probably would have been caught. With Robin, we stuck to shadows, dodging patrols and using the foliage as cover. He seemed frustrated at how noisy I was compared to him, but soon, we got alongside the factory, near a south wall. A look around on infrared revealed no one nearby.

"Okay, here we go." I took two pokeballs off my waist as Robin stared at me nervously.

"Uh, is this really going to work?" He asked.

"It has too." Was the response I gave him. "If the factory survives, so might traces of the formula. We need to destroy it."

With that, I unleashed Chesnaught once more. He stayed quiet, having been warned not to make a sound yet. Heatran was next. The Fire/Steel type immediately stuck close to me, staring at the jungle around her fearfully as sounds echoed around us.

I leaned down to rub her head, making sure to have her look at me. "It's okay sweetie. Just wait, and you'll be somewhere nice and warm."

A sound in the distance made us look up.

We have engaged. Kaldur told us seriously. Begin operation while we distract the enemy.

I nodded, leaning down to Heatran, and started telling her the plan. As I did, M'gann kept up the link, allowing me to see flashes of Kaldur and Slowbro driving back enemies with water and electricity as Jirachi flew around giggling and smashing into people. Sportsmaster was running, shooting at Superboy with Miss Martian trapped by him.

Once Sportmaster, he threw Miss Martian away, running to the controls and lifting off.

"Darn, Kobra is trying to escape." Robin said, seeing the leader begin to walk off with the tattooed woman from earlier. "I've got to go. You gonna be all right?"

"Go, I've got this." Robin nodded and leaped into the trees above. As he did, Heatran rumbled, then dug herself into the earth below with lightning speed, leaving me and Chesnaught beyond.

Over the link, I felt Heatran's joy at being under the earth even as she shitfted beneath the factory. Her skin suddenly became as hot as, well, magma, and stone began to melt with furious speed. She went faster, almost swimming in the earth, barking with joy as she did what she was born for.

Slowbro and Kaldur were synergizing well with Jirachi, using her naturally disruptive nature to continue to send cultists to Painland.

At the same time, Sportsmaster was lifting off in his helicopter. Miss Martian watched. Then she took out a Pokeball and threw it.

The thunder came.

Zapdos lifted into the sky, the mindlink between us filled with that echoing mind as it focused on it's target. The Electric Bird released a blast of noise no bird should be capable of and held it's wing out wide as the black skies above reflected it's cry.

Thunder. I whispered to Zapdos.

In a flash of yellow, a burst of electric power split the sky and turned night into day. It struck the helicopters tail and simply destroyed the entire section, sending the whole thing spiraling. A moment later a parachute opened far below.

Zapdos, now that he wasn't going to kill anyone, once more unleashed Thunder, and the helicopter ceased to exist.

Whoa. Robin whispered in my mind even as he leaped to engage Kobra, who was calm despite the display of power.

Even the Team, who had known what to expect, still were shocked by the display of power. Zapdos flew above, then came down towards the factory. Wisely, the cultists ran for their lives, something I could feel made Zapdos savagely pleased.

As they ran however, Chansey began to move. Following Kaldur's suggestion, she had taken position near the exit to the factory. Now, as cultist tried to leave by their escape routes, she appeared.

Suddenly, hardened lunatics found themselves under assault by a tiny pink being that by all rights shouldn't have been capable of moving, let alone attacking.

But attack she did, moving with a grim determination we all felt as she unleashed pulses of Thunder Waves to freeze the cultists in place, before her hands moved with blistering speeds to Double-Slap the poor bastards into Painland. Some tried to attack her, only to most likely wish they hadn't left their guns behind as their fists and feet slid off her pink flesh. Others ran around her.

The Stealth Rocks she'd left hanging in the air all around the area smacked them down long enough for her to get to her.

I felt a distinct amount of pleasure that the last thing they'd see before getting knocked out was a cute pink thing glaring at them before it left bruises on their face in the shape of her hands.

The factories clear. M'gann told us as we felt Chansey do her work to the sound of screams and pleads for mercy.

Then do it. Kaldur told me.

Heatran, come home.

I got a feeling of acknowledgement. Moments later she popped up, shaking lava off her body, and made sure to stay back so Chesnaught and I wouldn't be evaporated.

"Thanks sweetie." I told her, smiling. "Now I have to put you away for this next part."

She nodded, looking happy as a clam from her journey to the center of the earth, and I pulled her into her ball. I turned to Chesnaught, who had been waiting this whole time.

"Okay then." I sighed. "Chesnaught… Earthquake."

He grinned. Then he lifted his arms high, and slammed his fists into the ground.

The earth shook heavily. And the factory fell.

It was like… well, like an earthquake had opened a volcano. Heatran had melted the stone and dirt just beneath the factory into pure lava, turning the floor beneath the factory into nothing more than a cap.

Chesnaught had popped that cap, and the whole factory began to sink.

Lava poured upwards in pools and rivers, tearing apart metal. I could see a box of the formula this whole night had been about explode into flames.

Chesnaught and I ran to the front of the factory in time to join the others. Before us was Kobra, his robe gone to reveal pale white skin, muscular build, and a bald head.

He had Robin under his foot, as he stared at the carnage we'd caused. Robin took that chance to flip out from under him, flipping backwards to join us.

Zapdos landed beside me, and Slowbro and Jirachi took position with us, forming a united front, all ten of us.

"Hmm… it seems the power of other gods have come to foil me this night." Kobra smirked. "Flattering. Another time then."

He took a step back. And bumped into something. When looked down, Chansey looked back at him.

"I… what?" His calm turned to confusion. "What is that?"

"Chansey." I said as an answer and an order. "Seismic Toss."

Kobra's eyes widened when an impossible iron grip took his hand. Almost non-existent legs flexed, and Chansey rocketed upward, a shrilly screaming Kobra in tow.

Once Chansey reached the top of her jump and stared coming down, she spun once, twice, three times, with a screaming Kobra acting as her moon. Then she smashed Kobra into the ground, creating a crater and knocking him out.

We all stared in silence as Chansey wiped her hands calmly, waking over the still form of Kobra to walk over to us.

"We picked the right guy to lead." Robin said finally, turning to Kaldur. "Automatically making you the right guy to explain this mess to Batman."

As the Boy Wonder cackled evilly at the thought, Kaldur looked over at me.

"It was your Pokemon." He said hopefully. "And you gave me suggestions."

"Yeah, but your plan." I shrugged. "I'm just a tool in the system."

He smiled slightly. "True."

We all turned to watch the short lived volcano slowly cool in the night air, the sun rising in the distance behind it.


	9. Denzel Washington Movie

I felt alive.

Odd start I know. But it was the feeling on my mind as we waited in front of the lava pit that had once been a factory.

I was sitting down on the ground, the moist jungle ground separated from me by my sweet costume, which even now was wrapped around me in a perfectly fitting warmth that staved off the humidity and cold of the night air. The smell of the jungle, rotten and sweet, had been replaced partially by both the ozone scent that was now floating in the air, and the sickening brimstone of the lava pit.

My thoughts on the smell in the air and the feel of my costume on my skin and the earth beneath me weren't me waxing poetic. They were just one more part of a realization I'd come to.

I looked down at my lap. Slowbro rested his head on my lap, catlike as he rumbled against me. He was slowly chewing on a Kobra cultists mask, leaving big tooth marks in the hardened metal. He looked up at me as he did so. I looked away when I saw the knowing look in his eye.

About twenty feet away were Chesnaught and Kid Flash. The young Speedster was laughing as he helped Chesnaught put Bane's mask on, the bearlike Pokemon grinning widely under the now stretched out black and white mask. Chesnaught noticing me looking over at him, and his grin became something shy, like he was hoping for approval.

I returned his smile, a part of me warming at the sight of him grinning happily as Kid Flash playfully tugged at the luchador mask.

Scanning my eyes to the right brought me to Jirachi. She was floating in front of Aqualad, expressive eyes wide in interest.

Can I learn how to use those? She asked, eyes focused with scary focus on Aqualad's water bearers. I hadn't caught the start of the conversation, but apparently Jirachi had seen Kaldur using the water bearers, and was fascinated with them.

Aqualad smiled understandingly reaching behind his back to touch one of the sword/mace/knife handles attached to the backpack. "Well, it took me several years of learning to do so. And I'm not sure how Atlantean magic would respond to you."

Can I try though? She asked plaintively. I found myself grinning widely as Aqualad, the taciturn and badass leader of the fledging team, found himself flustered in the face of the earnest Jirachi.

He opened his mouth, face firming, clearly girding himself to say no in the face of adorable.

"Of course. Just give me some time to think."

As he blinked, apparently shocked at the words that had come out of his own mouth, Jirachi cheered, spinning into a floating dance.

Then, with the childlike enthusiasm characteristic of her, she noticed M'gaan floating nearby. Jirachi sped over to her, leaving Aqualad befuddled by his own actions. Miss Martian gave a jump as though someone yelled to her (Which, considering both Jirachi and M'gaan were telepaths, was probably the exact reason) and turned to give Jirachi a smile.

The two floated before each other, both moving as though they were talking, neither making a sound.

I watched the two speak telepathically, M'gaan smiling excitedly as she what had to be her first true mental conversation in a while besides her adopted uncle. Looking at her enthusiasm, the bright smile on her face, reminded of nothing more than my little sister whenever she'd get excited by one of those K-Dramas she loved.

I felt a pang in my heart then. My sister. My god, my family. Why hadn't I thought about them? Why hadn't I…

I turned away, deep sadness welling up, and instead looked towards where M'gaan had been staring before Jirachi distracted her.

Ah. Of course. Superboy.

AKA, Conner, though he apparently hadn't taken on the name yet. He was staring into the lake of lava, apparently watching for something with those intense eyes of his, arms crossed over his chest. Soon, within the magma, like a dolphin cresting waves, Heatran appeared.

My own personal lava monster blow bubbles happily in the lava she was swimming in, and barked in joy before diving back down. I couldn't help the smile as the adorable beast treated the superheated magma like nothing more than a kid's pool.

When I looked at Superboy though, he seemed almost… contemplative. He took a step forward, then stopped to look at his shirt. After a moment, he sighed and shook his head, stepping back.

It took me a minute to realize what I'd seen.

The Teen of Steel had been ready to see if he could swim in the lava too, only to decide against it because his clothes wouldn't survive.

It was an odd epiphany. It made me realize how _young_ he was. In the comics, when Superboy appeared, he'd acted like a smug teenager of the nineties, sure in his powers and constantly bragging about how cool he was.

The Superboy was similarily arrogant apparently, what with the whole thing where he'd leaped out of the Martian ship to prove he didn't need a line, but he did so in a more tacturn manner, acting more like the badboy of the group as opposed to a happy-go-lucky jock.

But seeing him ready to join Heatran made me realize he was just a kid.

Both Superboy's were still figuring out who they were, what they could do, and wanted to prove themselves. Superboy had been ready to dive into lava simply to see how it would go. That was the activity of a child.

It was an odd thought. I've never thought of myself as an adult. Kid at heart, that's me. But now, surrounded by teenagers, I realized that I was the only one there who truly knew what they could do. What their futures might hold, and how best to prepare.

Goddamn it, was I getting old?

Superboy had been ready to dive into lava. Hadn't anyone sat down with him, tested him like they did me and my Pokemon? Helped find out how strong he was, how tough, if he could get better?

Why hadn't Superman helped him?

I was brought out of my thoughts, rambling as they were, when Robin and Chansey walked over. The Boy Wonder was calm now, taking a bite into a small egg shaped object in his hand. Chansey had a similar egg in her own hands, and walked up to me to hold it out.

"Chans, Chansey." She smiled in a caring way as she took me by the hand and put the egg there. The egg was warm, and smooth, almost squishy. I lifted it up, marveling at the way the red glow of the lava and the lightning cracking above flickered over it surface. Chansey's smile widened as I took a bite. I moaned just a bit at the taste. Like caramel and chocolate, but somehow without being sticky in the teeth.

She took another one and handed it to Slowbro, who lifted his head up to chomp it down, before waddling over to Kid Flash and Chesnaught.

"She's a real sweetheart." Robin said as Chansey handed out two more of her supereggs to Chesnaught and Kid Flash. Robin looked at his own egg, almost finished now. "What is this anyways?"

"One of Chansey's eggs." I replied "She makes them using her powers. Better for you than a nutrient shake, twice the flavor to boot." I took another bite, looking up at Robin. "You guys all done?"

"Yep. All bad guys paralyzed and ready for the authorities. Once they come to pick them up, we leave it to them."

I frowned. "And our part in this? Won't those guys talk?"

The young acrobat grinned, finishing off his egg. "Yeah, but the Santa Priscan's won't care. They'll just put them away, thanks to some politic thing I don't get. Works out for us though."

I nodded, thoughtfully. My thoughts were still racing trying to process things.

"Hey, shouldn't we stop that?" Kid Flash, who had apparently given up on fitting Bane's mask onto Chesnaught in favor of eating an egg of his own, sped over to point up at the sky.

The new clarity of my thoughts gave me a moment to appreciate that I was taking to a man, who, in another universe, literally outraced his own version of Death. I held back the urge to ask for his autograph, something I hadn't done when things seemed so much muddier before, and looked up.

High above, Zapdos was doing his own version of Heatran's lava swimming. Lightning crackled around him as the skies danced at his whim. Inky black clouds were lit by the force of his power, and the roars from his body were matched by the thunder around us. I'm sure that if I'd looked in its thoughts, a kind of peace would be inside that titanic mind. In the skies above, Zapdos had created a storm at his command, and he was at peace.

"Why?" Robin asked, his face lit in a flash of yellow. "He looks like he's having fun."

"Yeah, but who knows what this is doing to local weather patterns." Kid Flash shook his head. "Don't be surprised if we hear about a hurricane a week from now."

I shrugged. "If that happens, we could just go and stop it."

That got me a dumbfounded look from the Mustard Speedster. "Just stop a… man, that is a scary amount of power right there."

Yeah. Yeah it was. I'd always jokingly said that a Pokemon Trainer is just a Green Lantern whose rings have personalities. But…

I frowned, scratching at Slowbro's head. Slowbro, who was capable of destroying a building if he had to. A big one. The catlike Pokemon could take down opponents that would send most people screaming. He could create rain, manipulate the elements. And he was just one Pokemon.

True, I wasn't invincible. The very fact I'd nearly died twice that night told me that. But I had a lot of power, and I knew a hell of a lot about the new world I'd found myself in. I could make real changes, big changes.

So why hadn't I? Why had I just sat in labs or the Watchtower, never tried to meet the Team before the mission, never sat down with my heroes unless prompted too, never spent more time in my Pokemon's company than necessary.

Hell, was the reason Slowbro was so eager to wrap around me because I didn't spend anytime with him?

What the hell was wrong with me?

And as I thought that, a golden lasso shined in my mind's eye. And I knew the answer.

"Time to go." Robin said, his wrist computer warning him of the coming authorities.

There were six flashes of red light. When the authorities came, a lava pit, a localized storm that was disappearing, and a small army of bruised and beaten criminals greeted them.

 **PYJ**

Sportsmaster stood in the center of the room, watching the viewscreens in front of him. Footage from his assignment was playing on a center screen. As he watched, the screen played a video of an enormous cream-colored bear wrestling with Baran Flinders, the test subject they'd injected with the Kobra-Venom. The video had been from his own view, but seeing it again really struck home. Superboy, the clone from a Cadmus project, had stood up well to the behemoth that Baran had become. That wasn't a surprise.

The bear however, had been a surprise. Enormous, fast, capable of energy projection, intelligent enough to aid and back up Superboy without losing itself in an animal rage. The combination of a Kryptonian super-soldier and what was apparently the animal kingdoms answer to metahumans had brought the Light's experimental soldier down.

"This is most interesting." A voice from one the screens said, its voice sounding deep and baritone. "And there were multiple creatures."

"Yes." Sportsmaster answered, his voice professional. "All of them controlled by this man."

The video sped forward to another scene. This time, the view showed the point-of-view of Sportsmaster leaping down from a tower to rush towards a man in a hood. From the distance, he could have been mistaken for a Kobra cultist, with similar coloring. The baseball cap, jeans, and sneakers however, marked him as different. As the video continued, the view rushed forward, and the man was grabbed and spun around.

"Nice beard." A dry voice said from one of the moniters.

Thought the hat hid his features, there was enough to at least be able to recognize the man if he appeared again.

"So what are we thinking? Some new hero?" A female voice said spitefully. Sportsmaster felt a hint of annoyance. The constant need for voice modulation and the viel of white lights got annoying after a while.

"I'd guess so." The dry voice said. "He appeared in my own town first. Stopped a bank robbery. But I haven't heard of him causing trouble since then."

"Interesting," The baritone voice said. "Usually we'd hear much more about such heroes before they go international. Do you have footage of the first event?"

"Not on hand." The dry voice replied. "But I'll bring it in. Considering things, a bit of research could be useful."

"You didn't happen to get a hair sample of one of those… _marvelous_ creatures?" This voice was very synthetic, and had a French accent.

Sportsmaster couldn't help the wry grin he sported under his mask. "I didn't have time to ask."

"Then we'll have to keep an eye out for them." The baritone voice was firm. "These creatures have real power. And while the man who leads them is clearly not as capable as even the weakest heroes, his control over them makes him a danger."

On the screen, Zapdos flew high in the skies above. Its body flared white, and the screen turned to static.

"In the end," The baritone voice concluded. "Even these creatures, will serve the Light."

 **PYJ**

"A simple recon mission, observe and report." Batman was mad. Understandably so. We were supposed to see what's up. Instead, we'd created a brief volcano that even now was cooling off in the South American jungle.

Well, my Pokemon had, but the others had colluded.

We were all gathered in the cave, my Pokemon put away in their balls. It was July 23rd, the day after our mission. I was wearing my civilian clothes just like the others, a simple dark shirt, blue jeans and sneakers. I hadn't slept much, but I was energized as I felt my thoughts racing, never really focused on one thing.

Still, a pissed off Batman has a way of pulling your attention.

"You'll each receive a written evaluation. Detailing your many mistakes." Batman said sternly, an earthquake under the surface. Then, his voice softened. "Until then, good job."

I felt shocked, and a look to my right showed the others felt the same way.

"No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. How you adjust to the unforeseen is what determines success."

Huh. That sounded… useful. Good to know for the future. I'd heard something like it before, but it hadn't struck quite like it had from Batman.

Then again, Batman had a skill in making every word sound like the most important thing you'd ever heard.

The Dark Knight looked over at Aqualad, but for some reason I felt like he was also looking at Robin. "And how you choose who leads determines character."

You see what I mean? Seriously, how the hell do guys like Ra's Al Ghul ignore Batman's good advice when every word he chooses makes you want to salute? Dude has style is what I'm saying.

As we were dismissed, he walked up to me. "Come with me."

I followed him into another room. Once the door was closed, he turned to me. "How do you feel now?"

Huh. Leave it up to the Batman to know what I had only realized hours ago. "You knew?" I chuckled. "Never mind. Was it a body language thing? Like you read my emotions based on my reactions."

"No. Simple deduction. I noticed certain reactions of yours were either subdued or exaggerated. I have seen that before." His cape ruffled slightly as he stepped forward, putting a hand on my shoulder. "The Lasso."

Those two words brought my problem to the forefront. I hadn't felt right since wearing it. And I knew why now.

"Ever since the Lasso," I stopped, hesitating, the whispers coming forth strongly. "I saw myself. The evil within me. The dark thoughts, the horrible feelings. The little lies, jealousies and sacrifices of honor I've made every day of my life. And ever since then-"

"You can't face other people as clearly as you once did." Batman said softly. He squeezed my shoulder slightly, his once intimidating presence a source of comfort now. "I know. Because every time you do, you hear that whisper telling you how horrible you truly are."

I couldn't help the shiver that went through me. I heard the whispers again. The reminders of how incredible the Batman was. How he'd faced false deities, monsters in human forms, and come out as a true paragon of the human spirit. The man with his hand on my shoulder will always be known as one of the greatest heroes in history.

And the whispers of truth told me I wasn't worthy to stand before him. That I should walk away, never darken his presence again. I was a loser, a liar. I'd never held a job for more than six months, my family didn't respect me, who the hell was I to take up this great man's time?

There were more whispers of course, telling me I wasn't so bad, that I should be easier on myself, work harder to match the attention he was now giving me.

But the darker whispers stuck with me. When Wonder Woman smiled at me or Captain Marvel gave me the shy look as he dropped some deep wisdom, the inner voices made me cringe inside at the thought of them _knowing_ my darkness. When Jirachi cheered as I did something nice for her, or Chansey did her mothering because she wanted me to feel better, I felt the sickness inside at the thought of them realizing all our bonds and connections had been built on a lie.

It's always been my problem. Whenever I screw up, I take it hard. The memory stays with me. Shit burns inside, and the mere thought of those memories makes me want to punch myself. And the Lasso confirming all that anger, fear, and jealousy inside me just magnified that self-hate.

"The same thing happened to me when I put on the Lasso for the first time. It has happened several other times before and after, due to one thing or another. But nothing has been more potent than Diana's Lasso."

I thought about that. About all the darkness and horror the Batman had taken on. The lies, big and small, that were as much a part of him as his cape. If this was so bad for me, a guy who had only lived an average life, how much would it shake a man with the kind of darkness that came forth when a child named Bruce Wayne died on a cold night in Gotham City?

"How do you deal?" I asked, looking up at him. I clenched a fist, trying to breathe evenly. "I'm tired of this. Tired of feeling guilty for something I couldn't do anything about. I want to be better, be a hero. This is my chance, right?"

I tightened my fist over and over, feeling as though I couldn't hold my grip strong enough for my own satisfaction. "So how the hell am I going to anything like that when I keep getting shut down by my own self-hate."

Batman nodded. He let go of my shoulder turning around with a swish of his cape to step slowly across the room as he spoke. "I once met a Tibetan Monk. An ancient, who taught me many things. And one of those things has helped me many times in my life."

He turned, face as stern as ever. "You aren't special."

"…I'm guessing you're going to add onto that." I crossed my arms, trying to hold back the annoyance that usually filled me. "Either that or you need a few lessons on your bedside manner."

He did thing that wasn't a smirk, and wasn't a smile. "It's a simple thing. You aren't special. Especially here. Many people have the same doubts, fears, and issues you do. Not as much as you. But those things have afflicted the human race since the beginning. Even Superman, Wonder Woman, and Martian Manhunter, all people of inhuman origin, have those issues for one reason or another. You aren't special."

"Oh… Then… if they can deal with it, so can I?" I asked him, frowning in thought.

"Yes, you can. You simply have to face yourself, and begin building something from those dark parts of yourself." Batman crossed his arms behind his back. "When this mission came forth, I decided it would be useful in many ways. As a simple recon mission, I was more than happy to give it you all. First, to help the Team be fully formed. Their last two missions were informal affairs. This mission, as their first true one, was meant to cement the Team, and help them discover the roles they needed. At the same time, with your addition to the Team, I believed it would be a good way to help you both confront your issues and see what you need to work on as a hero."

I thought about that for a moment. Then I scratched my chin. "Is this like how you got beat up when you first got out, and it's what lead you to being Batman?"

I fully expected him to be unfazed at my knowledge of his first disastrous night out. I was not disappointed.

"On my first night, I was too eager. I went out with more skill and ability than any thug in Gotham. Yet, my own anger and unthinking need for retribution lead me to ruin. But that night was valuable. It showed me how easily, despite my training and resolve, I could be defeated. And it also showed me how to be better."

I took a moment to think. Me throwing out that tidbit of his first night had been a gamble. After all, who was to say that event hadn't happened hear the way it did in another continuity. But he had a point. The first mission had told me a lot about myself. And what I could do to be better.

At that thought, the doubt came back. After all, I'd tried more than few times in my life to better myself, with varying levels of success. And now I wanted to try and be a hero? If I failed, I wouldn't just be a loser again.

I'd be dead.

But the great thing about knowing your enemy, is that you can start fighting him. Once I saw my doubts, I could drive them down.

"Okay. I can think of a few things I need to learn." I breathed deep. "I was trained as a boxer and wrestler, but not to the level of anything that would make me really dangerous. I'd like to further that. If I can back myself up with my fists, I won't be helpless if I get attacked while my Pokemon or the rest of the team aren't nearby."

"I already have someone in mind for that." Batman almost seemed to be judging me on my answers, as though this was a test. With that mindset, I found myself focusing as best I could, a small sweat on my forehead.

"I also need to start learning things about tactics." I sighed. "I'm leader of my Pokemon. And I need to learn how to use them in any situation, to keep them safe and fighting."

"That's something I have some expertise in." Batman said modestly.

I grinned. " _Some?_ You know, you're thought of as one of the greatest tacticians in all of fictional history." That statement lead to my next thought. "I also need to build my reputation."

The idea had been on my mind, half-formed, since we'd left the island. What is an asset I can build, more valuable in the new community I was now joining than gold? Something intangible, something that protect me and mine.

"Reputation." Batman face was still as water, and his voice had no emotion. "Do you understand what you'll be risking with something like that? For one thing, it isn't a good idea for a member of a covert team to build a reputation."

I winced. "Hadn't thought of that."

"No, you didn't. As it is, I wouldn't be surprised if the people who'd hired Sportsmaster have already heard of you, and are planning on how to either counter or influence you."

"Influence I doubt." I shook my head. "I've seen the shit bad guys do here. Like hell I'm letting my Pokemon get dragged down with me on the villainy route."

"But they will try." I'd say Batman was being serious, but he's rarely anything else. Still, he was more intense. "You say you want to build a reputation. Why?"

Thrown a bit, I leaned back against the wall and stroked my chin. "Well damn. I guess… the reason is…"

Reputation. Why did I want one? There was good reason. It was because of… of-

"Bane." I pulled away from the wall. "That's why. In several universes, Bane is known as one of the most dangerous men alive. He's beaten and broken heroes and villians alike. And because of that, the second I thought I was going to fight that guy, I almost pissed myself. If he'd tried to confront us directly, I probably would have lost it."

Now I felt like I knew what I was talking about. I knew what to say.

"And Sportsmaster. In most universes, he's a joke. Because of that, I didn't take him seriously here. But the second I let my guard down, he almost killed me."

I nodded to myself. "So yeah. Reputations have a real effect on the way an enemy approaches you, regardless of how weak or how strong they actually are. John Constatine, he's a magician here-"

"I know the name." Batman growled, a distinct amount of dislike in his voice. The more things change I guess.

"Uh, right. Well, he once walked into a bar of demons, warlocks, and fae about to kill someone. He didn't have any powers, allies… nothing but a trenchcoat and a cigarette." I grinned just a bit. "Not a single demon moved on him. Because his reputation was that horrifying."

Lots of names filled my mind then. Harry Dresden. Korra. Captain America. Commander Shepard. And of course, Batman.

In their worlds, the mere mention of thee heroes names would send people running. They were legends, inspiring to innocents and terrifying to the guilty. I wanted that. I wanted it so bad I was shocked an orange ring didn't sprout on my finger.

But then there was the opposite. The instant you get a name for yourself, people try to bring you down. Every action has an opposite or equal reaction.

But still. I wanted to be a hero. I also damn well wanted people to know about it too.

"We'll speak about that later." Batman seemed a bit sad now. If anyone knew the consequences of an impressive reputation after all, it was him. "There's something else you'll need."

"Resources." I tapped my bag. "The job of a trainer is to keep his Pokemon strong and happy. I have some gear for them, tools and whatnot that will make them tought or stonger." A thought struck me. "I might as well extend that to the rest of the team while I'm at it. Figure out ways to help them get stronger and faster and whatnot."

"Any ideas?"

"Some." I stroked my chin, mind racing. The whispers were still there. But they were in the background now, easily ignored. Maybe later they'd come back. But every second I kept busy staved them off. "Mind if I bounce some ideas off of you?"

"I don't. But not now. Write them into a report for me to look at later. For now, I have to return to Gotham." Batman walked over to the door and opened it. Outside was Robin, who didn't even pretend like he hadn't been eavesdropping, a shameless grin on his face. Batman gave his partner a look, then turned back to me. "We'll talk tomorrow, and begin the training then."

He frowned. "In the meantime, I suggest you tell the Team the truth. Soon."

My good mood vanished, and the smile fell off my face. He was right. I couldn't go around knowing every damn secret of the team. And if I wanted to help them, knowing the heights they'd rise to one day, then letting them know of my extrauniversal knowledge was… well, it was important.

Wally West would one day become the Fastest Men in Existence. Superboy would become Superman, and live up the legacy in a big way. Miss Martian would rise up the torment her heritage gave her. And Robin would become Nightwing, and go further than he could have believed.

But how could I tell them that? What if they felt like that was too much to live up too? Who was I to tell them what they might or might not become.

As Batman left with Robin, I felt like things had only become more complicated. But there was one more thing I wanted to do. Something that was necessary.

I wanted to bond with my Pokemon. Really bond with them, not depend on the memories within their minds. I wanted to get to know them, to really understand who they were and what they were like.

I avoided it before. The doubts in my own mind had left me terrified of what their response would be if they ever found out our relationship was built on lies. But now…

Who knows? Maybe when they found out, the real memories would make up for the fake ones?

All I could do was hope.

 **PYJ**

When I left the room and walked to the large area that served as the team main meeting room, Kaldur was waiting for me in the center of the large white circle that served as the rooms centerpiece. He smiled politely as I walked up.

"Hey man, whats up?" I asked, giving him a smile of my own, my worries fading away for later.

"Nothing. I had heard that you would be staying here, and thought you might like a tour."

I was touched. "Thanks man. One sec."

I reached for my bag, and Kaldur took a step back, face calm. Apparently he already knew what was up. I pulled out six Pokeballs and threw them out. In flashes of red light, my Pokemon appeared, and a brief amount of loud roars, screeches, and growls sounded out. Once it was done, I clapped my hands, drawing their attention.

"Okay my badass friends, this is going to be our new home." I told them jauntily, drawing interest from Chesnaught and Chansey, confused looks around from Jirachi, Heatran, and Slowbro, and extreme disinterest from Zapdos. "So Kaldur here, you remember Kaldur."

The Atlantian waved, smiling at the joyous Hi Kaldur! he got from Jirachi.

"He's going to show me around. You guys can come along, or go off on your own. Just don't leave this place, don't break, eat, or touch anything unless you get permission, and make sure to find me if you need anything. Got it?"

If I'd been expecting everyone to follow Kaldur and me, I would have been disappointed. Zapdos, the instant I said it could go off on its own, flew up to a balcony in an upper level of the cave and landed. He cawed briefly, then stood there, looking over the area in an arrogant way.

Slowbro turned and calmly strolled into the lake nearby, diving in without a sound and disappearing below the surface. Kaldur smiled at that, obviously familiar with the urge Slowbro was following.

Heatran was the last to leave. She simply ran off with a happy bark. That actually surprised me. Of all my Pokemon, Heatran was the most nervous in new places of situations. Maybe the fact she was underground helped?

"Okay then." I said, staring after Heatran a bit sadly. I hadn't realized it, but I had gotten used to Heatran seeing me as her shelter. It was nice to see her getting over her timidness a bit, but part of me liked protecting her. I turned to the final three Pokemon. "Shall we?"

Chansey shook her head. "Chans, Chansey." With that declaration, she turned and walked towards the kitchen.

"Oh… uh, okay. See you Chansey." I scratched my head and turned towards Kaldur, who looked confused. "I guess she wants to cook? She'll be okay."

Lets go! Jirachi cheered, leaping towards me. She landed on my shoulder and rested there, her scarfs holding her there. Chesnaught gave a small roar of agreement. Chesnaught wants to go too. Jirachi added needlessly.

"Very well." Kaldur said. "Let's go."

 **PYJ**

The Team's base was badass. Fully stocked kitchen, plenty of rooms, beachfront property, tech that would leave most Trek computers in the dust…

"And all this for three easy payments of $19.99." I mumbled as my own private joke.

Jirachi had been fascinated at the whole thing.

What's that? She asked as we walked by one room.

"The library." Kaldur told her, turning back to lead us inside the room.

The room had two levels, with tables between the various shelves, and a few books on pedestals that had lights shining down on them.

I looked around and felt part of me warm. Since I was little, I've always loved libraries. One of my favorite things to do was find a warm corner, pile up books around me, and read for a few hours. Still my favorite thing to do really.

Kaldur apparently felt the same. "I haven't spent as much time in here as I might like, but there is a fascinating number of books here. I've also added some of my own though," Kaldur smirked just a bit. "You would have to learn Atlantean to read them of course."

I chuckled at that. Chesnaught, interestingly, didn't look bored. I'd thought of him as the fighter type (heh) more interested in hitting things or pranks. As a book lover myself, I recognized the look of interest in his eyes.

A thought struck me as we walked through the large room.

"There wouldn't happen to be a copy of Art of War, would there?" I asked. I couldn't help a wince. "I uh, kinda want to relearn tactics."

Kaldur seemed startled. Then, after a moment of thought, "We actually have several versions. But I recently gained my own copy. Would you like to borrow it?"

Oh yeah. Kaldur was military, and now he was leader of his own team, like I was for my Pokemon. Of course he'd grab a copy of the quintessential surface world book on military tactics.

"I'd like it, but why that one specifically?" I asked. "Why not the others?"

Kaldur smirked. "Because Batman wrote his own notes and insights within it."

Oh. My. God. The Dark freakin Knights personal version of the Art of War!?

I lifted my hand to my mouth, shutting off the squeal of glee that almost slipped out. Jirachi bounced on my shoulder, but she ignored my movement, looking a bit bored now.

I coughed, trying to be cool. "Yeah, I'd like to borrow it if it's cool with you."

"Very well. Here, allow me to show you where you'll be sleeping. My room is down the hall from yours, so we can pick up the book while we're there."

"Ches, Chesnaught?" The Grass Knight tapped my shoulder, a pleading look on his face. Once again, I felt like I understood what he was asking for. One day I'd have to find out why I understood my Pokemon so well, if it was some strange change in my mind or my genetics.

For now, I turned to Kaldur. "The big guy wants to know if he gets his own room."

Oh, oh! Jirachi, no longer bored, leaned forward excitedely. Me too! I want one with a waterfall!

"Ha!" For the first time, though short, Kaldur let lose a laugh. "I'd have to ask about that. But we'll try to accommodate you all as best we can." He turned to lead us off. "The good thing about a mountain is that there is plenty of room to expand."

Walking into the living quarters lead us to bumping into M'gann, looking like something out of a wholesome fifties sitcom in her cute pink civvie clothes. She smiled as we walked up, and Jirachi flew over to her.

Hey M'gaan! The little Pokemon said happily, hugging the Martian girl with both her tiny arms and her scarves.

M'gaan hugged her back with a sweet smile, silent within our own minds, though I still felt her 'presence' extend slightly thanks to my own experience, so she was probably greeting Jirachi back.

"So you stay here too?" I asked her. She looked up at me, her eyes crinkling just a bit. Once again, my little sister flashed in my mind, and I had to fight the wave of sadness that followed.

"Yeah, me and Superboy." M'gaan answered honestly. "He's in his room right now. I was headed to cook dinner… or breakfast? What time is it?"

"How about you just make brinner and cover your bases?" I responded with a grin.

"Brinner?" M'gaan looked like a confused puppy. "What's that?"

"Dinner and breakfast combined. Ancient earth tradition. If you have no idea what's appropriate for the moment, just come two different meals into one." My stomach growled just a bit at the thought of brinner, a delicious meal my family had stared celebrating as joke because of the show Scrubs, only for it to become tradition. I sighed just a bit at the thought of the pancake sandwiches my mom used to make.

"Anyways, you'll have help in the kitchen. Chansey is cooking there now."

"Oh, great!" M'gaan said brightly, lifting into the air. "I'll go help her!" She took off like a bolt, the air whistling around her as she flew down the hall.

"Man, I wish I could fly." I groused briefly.

Me too. Jirachi said with a wistful sigh.

Kaldur blinked. He raised a finger, seemingly hesitant to talk. "But… you can fly." He pointed at the space of air beneath the floating Jirachi. "You're doing it right now."

Jirachi giggled at that, patting Kaldur on the top of his head. Silly. I can fly. But I can't _Fly_.

"I'm missing something." Kaldur said in the way a man accepting the ridiculousness of his life would.

"You are, but it doesn't matter." I patted Kaldur's shoulder, a part of me laughting. Maybe, with time, Jirachi would be able to make inside jokes on the mechanics of Pokemon on her own. Until then, I'd just enjoy the moments as they came.

"So where's our rooms?" I said, a bit eager.

Finally, a room of my one in this universe. I couldn't wait to decorate.

 **PYJ**

The rest of the day went rather normally. M'gaan and Chansey, working together, cooked a meal big enough for an army. Considering the fact that they'd be feeding a half-Kryptonian, an Atlantean, a Martian, six Pokemon, and one man of Arabian origin, the food was barely enough to feed us all seconds.

The next day was far more memorable. Batman had apparently managed to contact someone to teach me. I was pretty excited about the whole thing to be honest. It had been a few months since my last real workout, and a bit longer since my last fight.

Well, spar. My last fight almost killed me I guess.

And so, I found myself staring up at the building high above, a slight smile on my face.

"I never got to see the Empire State Building of my world." I whispered to the younger boy next to me. I was sitting in a courtyard, finishing off a gigantic cheesesteak in my hand, and staring up at the iconic structure.

Robin, who was wearing the slick glasses and blue jacket of his civilian gear, shrugged. "Eh, it's all right. The Waynecorp Tower is taller."

I scoffed. "Yeah, but there is no Waynecorp in my world, remember?" Staring up, a thought came to my mind. "I wonder how similar this one is to the one in my world."

"How different could it really be?" Robin asked curiously, lifting the hot dog he was eating to take a bite.

"A lot of ways really. Even if the guy who designed this one is the same as the one in my universe, it doesn't mean every construction guy, bolt, and wall is the same. And even then, who says the businesses, past history, and even the wiring is anything similar to mine."

My smile turned a bit sad. "Huh. I guess that means it's… not really the Empire State Building. Not for me anyways." I shoved the last of my cheese steak into my mouth.

Robin looked up at me, finishing his own meal. "No luck on finding your family huh?"

I sighed at the thought of that newest frustration. "No. No I did not. As far as this world is concerned, I'm the first in my line in existence. A man out of time, the Trainer from another world, and other melodramatic things like that."

The wry tone I used didn't seem to fool the Boy Wonder. He didn't call me on it though. Simply sat with me. He didn't offer support, and he didn't push me to talk. He was there for me. And I, a grown man more than a decade his senior, felt ridiculously comforted by his support.

I felt a rush of admiration for Robin alongside the comfort. Here was me, sad because I probably wouldn't be able to see my family again. But they were more than likely alive in another universe. Robin would never get that chance, not until he joined them once again.

He was a good kid, who'd gotten too much piled onto him too fast.

"Anyways, enough depressing crap." I said cracking my neck. "Where is he? He was the one who wanted to come along, wasn't he?"

"I don't know." Robin looked around, confused, then shrugged. "Anyways, your new trainer should be done with his morning training. Let head out. He'll be back when he's done hitting on everything that moves."

I laughed at that as he led me away.

Soon, we were leaving the brighter streets around the Empire State Building for the grimier and rougher neighborhoods. I felt a bit nervous, watching the various dangerous figures and would-be thugs that populated the streets even in daylight. I found myself stroking the clasp to my bag. Within it enormous storage space were my Pokeballs and costume, including my stun baton.

Of course, if we did end up fighting someone, I knew full well my best asset was the teenager walking next to me as confidently as thought this was a high school library and not some of the meanest streets in America.

I was glad when we finally reached our location. It was a dirty alley, typical dumpster, lots of trash, the works. The only entrance was a green door. Slightly underwhelming. Robin opened it without stopping to knock, forcing me to follow. As I walked in, something's stood out.

One was the large boxing ring in the center, well maintained, but still somehow radiating the sweat, blood and violence that anyone who's spent time in one of them would recognize. Surrounding it were several boxing bags hanging from chains to the ceiling, simple weight equipment (more primitive than that in the cave, but still clean and solid), and posters plastered all over the walls, most of them promoting old boxing matches.

I felt almost peaceful. I've always loved places like this. Gyms, dojos, it didn't matter, I always liked them.

Which I guess made me more of a Pokemon Trainer than I thought. Most of them did tend to turn up in gyms after all.

"I feel like I'm home." I said with a grin.

"That's a good sign." The voice came from an office just close enough to the door to be able to see and hear anyone entering. Robin grinned as a man entered the room.

"You recognize him?" The Boy Wonder asked. "From your home universe I mean?"

I did. But the posters had been a big part of that. After all, most of them carried his name.

The man was solid, muscular, each muscle tightly overlapping like the plates of a tank. He was wearing a simple gray t-shirt with a fanged symbol on the shoulder, and some sweatpants. He was older, but like most people who'd been working out their entire lives, carried that age with ease. He had short black hair, dark eyes, and a five o'clock shadow that did nothing to save the various wrinkles he'd gained from smiling.

The same way he was smiling now. "So how about it kid? They talk about Ted Grant in other universes?"

I grinned like a maniac.

"Wildcat."

The former heavyweight champion of the world gave a satisfied grunt. "I'll take that as a yes." 


	10. Swift As A Coursing River

"So the way old Brucie tells me, you need to get back in shape." The legendary boxer gives me a critical look. "This… might take a while."

"Hey, screw you!" I said back, hurt. Robin broke out laughing, the closest thing to a deep belly laugh he could do.

"Sorry kid, I call 'em like I see 'em." Ted Grant crossed his arms, the toughened skin on his knuckles easy to see. He smirked just a bit. "You've got some training before, right?"

"Yeah." I tried to reign back my annoyance. And my fanboy tendencies. Ted Grant was awesome. A badass boxer who had fought everyone from Ali to Foreman, had thrown punches into the chins of some of the worst in history, and trained some of the world's greatest heroes.

"I was trained for six months." I answered.

"Probably one of those big classes, lots of people getting trained by one teacher?" Ted guessed. When I nodded, he continued. "Did you get some one on one training? Maybe a bit of sparring?"

At that, I had to shrug. Most of my classes had been, like he said, large room affairs. Not a lot of time was spent on one-on-one focus.

"That's okay as a base," Ted said rubbing his knuckles against his chin. "But you're still going to need to put some serious work in. We need to find out what you've got, go from there."

"What about my Pokemon?" I asked. "I want to make sure they learn some new tricks, you know?"

"Poke the what?" Ted asked, scratching his head in a befuddled manner. As he did, a massive bicep on his arm curled upward and threatened to rip his shirt sleeve in two. I felt a shot of envy, then hope.

I may have be a Pokemon Trainer, but here's hoping I would end up looking more like Bruno of the Elite Four, and less like a Mountain Hiker. And what does it say that I was making these references in my own head?

"Pokemon." I answered with a smile. "Monsters I can bring out in a fight, each with their own powers."

"Huh." Ted rubbed his head, turning to Robin. "How about it Dick? You ever see one of these Pokeyman? What are they like?"

"Hey, secret identity, remember!?" Robin said, a bit fruitlessly.

"Dick, I already know your secret identity." I reminded him, trying to hold back the laugh that popped up at the semi-whiny tone he'd taken.

"Besides, how are you going to team up with someone you can't even trust with your name?" Grant growled. He shrugged. "Whatever. I'll remember next time. Spill, what are these things like?"

Blunt as hell. Still, I reached into my bag and grabbed a simple Pokeball, held in a holster on my belt with the rest. Seeing the six, I suddenly remembered that I had to contact Latias soon.

Pushing that aside, I threw the ball out, the three of us watching as it popped open and the red light brought out my Pokemon.

"Wildcat, meet Chesnaught, the Grass/Fighting type." The lead of my team blinked blearily, stretching his massive arms outwards. "Chesnaught, meet Wildcat. The Boxing type."

Chesnaught looked over at Ted, who was looking over the bearlike Pokemon with interest. Chesnaught lifted a hand to his head and gave a jaunty salute.

"Chesnaught."

"He said wassup." I translated glibly.

"That's… big." Ted said slowly. He turned to me. "So these are the kinda things you need to fight alongside?"

"Basically, yeah." Chesnaught came next to me, and growled happily as I scratched a spot just under his armor. "Though they have all sorts of powers and shapes."

Ted considered that. He turned to look at Robin, then back at me. Then he smiled.

I felt chills at that smile, seriously.

"Fine then. If I'm going to train you, I'm going to need to see you in a fight." Ted turned away and walked towards the boxing ring. With agility that would have made much younger athletes weep with envy, he hopped inside, and turned towards me and Chesnaught. "We're going to spar."

He panned his eyes to Chesnaught. And then, to Robin. "All of us. You and that bear take on me and the youngin."

"… Monday." I nodded glumly, coming to a conclusion. "This is a Monday. No other explanation."

Chesnaught had a different opinion, a wide grin sprouting on his face. He growled with joy, eagerly stepping forward.

No less eager was Robin, who seemed to take a bit of joy in the look I gave him as he took his belt out from inside his jacket and slipped it on, following Chesnaught. I took a deep breath, trying to control my fear.

"Do we really have to do this?" I asked, semi-desperately. "Cause I have to be honest, I've never had a tendency for masochism. You might be mistaking me for every other guy dumb enough to step into the ring with you."

"Flattery will get you nowhere kid." The old boxer said with a chuckle, taping up his hands as Robin and Chesnaught took spots in the ring. Ted became sober, looking at me with slightly sad eyes. "Listen kid. You said you want this life."

He finished taping up his fists, tapping his knuckles together as he strode over to lean on the rings and talk to me. "Well step one is knowing how to jump into the fights that need fighting. Your partner is in here, ready to take me on. All you need to do is decide what happens next."

I stared up at the face of Ted Grant, the man somehow seeming larger than even than the monster behind him.

And I scowled, though I felt a grin pulling at my lips. "Ah, shut up old man. I'll hop in. I was just worried you'd break your hip or something."

Robin and Chesnaught stared at me, horrified. Ted laughed, a big belly roar of glee.

"Oh kid," He said as he chuckled. "I'm gonna have fun training you."

The chuckle turned into something dangerous.

"Now get in here so I can show you what an old man can do."

I hopped into the ring. And without warning, Ted was rushing towards me. I yelped, instinctively raising my arms to block.

Have you ever been in a fight with a master?

Because if not, then it's hard to understand the feeling I felt at the sight of Wildcat rushing towards me. He was so _massive_ , muscles layered thickly like armor. And yet, he moved so smoothly, his speed and grace incredible to watch. It was something between a blur and slow motion, his tank top fluttering in the wind of his passing. His first jab was pure artistry, quick and clean, massive fist slamming into my raised right arm like a brick smashing into wood.

I nearly bit my tongue as I fell back, my right arm screaming in pain. Ted didn't follow, simply watching me. Measuring me.

At the same time, Robin, in a move that in most universes would have screamed for a Darwin Award, back flipped onto the ropes behind him, and used them to slingshot above Chesnaught. Chesnaught roared in challenge as Robin threw several shuriken that barely dug into the Pokémon's armor, before each golden disc exploded. Chesnaught to each explosion like a summer rain, lashing out at Robin with his right fist as the Boy Wonder came towards him.

The acrobatic young tapped his fingers against Chesnaught's fist, using the bearlike Pokémon's attack as a springboard to kick Chesnaught in the face. Chesnaught took the hit, responded by grabbing Robin's leg to throw him back. Robin's smashed his back on the floor of the ring, then rolled to his feet, a devil may cry grin on his face.

"Pay attention." Ted said as I watched the others battle from the corner of my eyes.

I focused on Wildcat long enough to try and dodge back from one of his attacks, a left cross. Only to realize, in a moment of slow motion realization, I was just too slow. I barely had enough time to get my other arm in the way, only for him to twist his fist around to 'gently' tap it into my ribs.

I kept myself from gritting my teeth, and focused instead on punching back. It took three punches to show how freaking outclassed I was.

He barely moved his body, dodging with the minimum amount of distance to keep from being hit. I tried to speed up, tried to put more focus. I felt rage as every punch I threw hit air, even as I tried to focus, to keep from losing my temper.

I felt even more humiliated when Wildcat began to throw his own punches, teasingly, showing me the opening I kept leaving in my offense, his taped up fist coming inches from my skin before pulling back even as I kept trying to hit something other than air.

While I was getting schooled, Chesnaught was getting frustrated. Robin was using his natural speed and agility to dodge and dance around Chesnaught, tapping him with little blows that, while ridiculously powerful for someone his age and size, were irritants to a creature with Chesnaught's constitution.

Chesnaught was getting annoyed though. Robin was using his smaller size to his advantage, laughing in an irritating fashion as he dodged and leaped around.

I felt a strong bond with Chesnaught then. In that moment, we were both annoyed as hell with someone who really damn well wanted to hit. It was beautiful.

And then Ted slammed a fist into my forehead.

As I staggered back, stars in my eyes, I felt an idea percolate in my pain filled brain.

After all, the fight was two on two, right?

"Chesnaught, Spikes!"

Reflexively, the bearlike Pokemon followed my orders. With a growl, he covered the floor of the ring in spikes.

"Whoa, what the-!" Robin staggered from where he'd been about to land on the ground, avoiding some pointed spikes to his shoes. He backed off from Chesnaught, who stood proudly in the center of the now far more dangerous ring.

I'd started moving even as I yelled, leaping to land alongside Chesnaught in a scramble of movement. Ted had gone to follow, only to stop as well, cocking an eye at the sight of the floor. I stared at him, panting heavily as sweat dripped from my brow. Ted looked up at me. Then, he stepped forward, the dangerous footing not even slowing him down.

Damn. I'd hoped to buy more time with that. Still, now I had a plan to at least impress Wildcat. I knew I wouldn't be able to win, but I had to showcase what I knew, and one thing I knew was how to use my Pokemon.

I couldn't go all out. If I wanted to, I could have Chesnaught blow away the entire gym. Inside that bear was enough power to make a neighborhood shatter. But no. I had to think like a hero. And that meant strategically, without collateral damage.

So first, both Robin and Wildcat were above my league, both having fought super-villains for years with nothing more than a wise crack and a right hook. So, I had to destabilize them.

"Chesnaught, Tackle Wildcat!"

"Ah hell." The old boxer groused when the bear-knight turned and charged, roaring.

The ground shook as Wildcat hurriedly dodged aside, and lashed out a fist into Chesnaught. The crack of his fist slamming into Chesnaught's arms resounded, but Chesnaught stood up a hell of a lot better to it than I had.

While Chesnaught charged Wildcat, I stepped forward to intercept Robin as he tried to help Wildcat. I knew it wouldn't work for long. Robin was too damn strong and fast for me to be more than a temporary distraction. But I needed it for just one second.

True to form, the most my interference did was force the Boy Wonder to leap up, land his feet on my shoulders as I stared in awe, and leap upwards once more, sending me to the ground in a pained heap.

As he laughed, I cheered inside.

"Chesnaught, Vine Whip on Robin!"

"Oh man!" Forced into mid-air by my interference, Robin couldn't dodge nearly as quickly on the fly. Vine Whip, the signature beginning move of all Grass Starter Pokemon, lashed out at Robin, slamming into his chest.

Unfortunately, while I had managed to send Robin flying for the moment, I'd had to make Chesnaught ignore Wildcat. The old boxer leaped into Chesnaught's range. There was a blur, so fast I thought the pain from the earlier blows had made me dizzy.

Chesnaught fell back. He wasn't downed. He wasn't even scratched. But he fell back.

And I couldn't help but notice the grin on Chesnaught's face. He was loving this.

Damn. So Pokemon really are Blood Knights. I'd kind of known that, but seeing Chesnaught smile in the midst of this spar was a true reminder.

As I lay there, Chesnaught stepped in. With his arms raised.

"No way." I breathed out.

In a perfect copy of Ted's stance, Chesnaught released a short jab. Wildcat dodged it, but grunted as the blow barely scratched his chest, before countering with an uppercut.

Chesnaught dodged, in a perfect cop of the way Ted had.

"He's learning." I leaned in, awed. Chesnaught had always been a good fighter. But he'd never shown the kind of polish that I had seen in most martial artists. He was a brawler, something that I think resonated with Superboy, who fought in much the same way. Taking hits over and over, lasing out with powerful blows as he allowed his recovery abilities and enormous bulk to cover him.

Now though, even as I watched, Chesnaught was slowly changing. His punches became jabs and hooks, not just powerful blows lashing out. He was dodging, not just taking a hit.

My Pokemon was learning how to box. In the middle of his first spar.

Wildcat seemed to realize that as well, quirking an eyebrow. After another exchange of blows, Ted stepped back.

"Hey Bear." Wildcat said simply. "I get what you're feeling. But I still need to test the kid. Mind stepping aside?"

Chesnaught stared at Wildcat. Then, with a disappointed groan, he stepped back and relaxed his arms.

"What the hell?" I stared at Chesnaught. "Dude! Why?"

Chesnaught huffed.

"I can learn later, but damnit that was awesome!" I yelled, annoyed at the interruption of yet another theory being proven.

Then I was under assault. Even as I rose up and tried to dodge and weave while getting pounded like a drum, I was thinking.

Chesnaught's response to Wildcat's boxing was not unprecedented. In every Pokemon universe, they are capable of learning and evolving at an incredible pace. Teaching techniques without a TM/HM was a matter of a few moments, and Pokemon could become amazingly strong with only a few battles.

However, Chesnaught had done something incredible. In a single fight, he'd begun to break down and understand the principles of boxing, emulating the moves perfectly.

Well, not perfectly, even an amateur like me could see that. He didn't have the rhythm down, dodged when he should have blocked for a counter attack for example.

Even so, the implications of that sight were enough to distract me for a bit before I forced myself to keep fighting.

Finally, as Robin leaped back into the ring, Wildcat stopped kicking my ass and nodded. "Okay. That's good enough for me."

"Ohthankyougod." I spat out, falling to the ground in pain. "Ah! Agony! Pain! Why?" I screamed, pulling several of Chesnaught's Spikes out of my ass. They began to fade away as we all rested.

"Ahhhhh, suck it up kid." Wildcat said easily, walking over a water bottle.

"Ouch." Robin winced even as he laughed his ass off, Chesnaught chuckling as well. "I guess this spar was a real pain in the butt for you, huh?"

"When you least expect it brat." I groaned good-naturedly. "Get Chansey will you?"

Robin walked over to my bag and rummaged around before pulling out Chansey's ball. As she appeared, she looked around, and immediately spotted my bruised and beaten from. Frowning, she immediately walked over and activated her Heal Pulse, the psychic energy flowing over me as I sighed in relief.

"Are all these things so weird looking?" Ted asked idly, staring at the pink creature healing me.

"You should see the one that looks like keys." I groaned, feeling blood vessels shift as they snapped together. I patted Chansey, smiling. "Thanks girl. You've always got my back."

"Well, at least I know which one is Chansey." Wildcat said with a smile. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a paper. "Because I need her to get this thing started."

"What?" I blinked, even as Chansey left my side to waddle over to Robin and look him over with a critical eye, getting a nervous chuckle from the young man. "Why?"

"Take a look." He walked over and handed me the sheet. I started reading it. Then I stopped and reread. And again.

Wondering why I was frozen, Chesnaught, Chansey, and Robin walked up behind me to read over my shoulder.

"Oh whoa." Robin whistled.

"Chesnaught." The bear-like Pokemon agreed in a tone that was somehow more jealous than I felt appropriate.

"Chans, Chans." The pink healer sighed, apparently resigned.

"Batman," I whispered slowly. "You son of a bitch."

 **PYJ**

"You cuss a lot." Robin said jokingly as we left, Chesnaught and Chansey safely in my bag.

"I didn't used to." I said with a sigh. "I was never clean as a whistle or anything, but it seems I've turned into a real potty mouth. Truly, I have long since taken my first step into the dark side. Soon I will take the horrific monsters under my control, rule this world with an iron fist, and institute mandatory nude day for the hot people of the world."

"Mandatary nude day for the hot people?" Robin asked as we walked down the street, sounding absolutely giddy at the thought. "I guess you'll never get to celebrate with the rest of us."

"Oh, good one." I grinned at him. "By the way, why don't bad guys ever have fun plans like that? It's always blood and fire or something. Never free pasta, or awesome amusement parks."

"I couldn't take a villain seriously if he told me he was taking the city hostage for free pasta." Wally said idly, shoving one hot dog into his mouth afterwards as he held another ready.

I was going to concede his point when I realized who had made it. Robin and I stopped, turning to stare at the redhead.

"Where have you been?" Robin asked, shocked to see Wally.

"I got bored waiting," Wally replied, giving us a grin. "So I ran around. Sped into Broadway, went to the Statue of Liberty, saved some kids in Queens from falling off a water tower, and made some bad guys in Brooklyn into a nicely pummeled gift basket."

He gave us a smug grin, voice teasing. "How about you two? Get bored waiting for moi?"

I and Robin shared a look.

"Nah, we were good." Robin said slowly. "Met Ted Grant. You know, the guy who is not only one of the _best_ boxers in history, but also a founding member of the JSA."

"And then we sparred with him." I added, playing along. "Me and Chesnaught, versus Wildcat and Robin. Fists flew, explosions went off. It was awesome."

Wally stared at us for moment. Then he slumped, pouting. "Aw man! That does sound awesome!"

Laughing at the future King of Speed acting like a little kid, I patted him on the shoulder. "Well, tomorrow I'm meeting him for my first workout session. You can come then if you get permission again. Meet the man himself."

Wally sighed. "I'll try. But man, I wouldn't have left if I'd known you guys would go without me."

"We did wait for you." Robin reminded him. "And you responded to my text, remember?"

Robin lifted his Waynetech cell to display a messaging screen. On it was him asking where Wally was.

The reply was, "Lol, kicking booty, wywh!"

My inner English teacher died just a bit.

"Let's get back to the cave." I said idly. "I need to get back to work."

"And I need to get back to Gotham." Robin said.

"And I need to go home for… back-to-school shopping." The grim tone of voice Wally took on tugged at my heart strings. I sighed sadly.

"God help you my friend." I told him. "For no one else can."

 **PYJ**

"This world is full of threats." I told my audience, trying to sound professional. Robin and Kid Flash had left already, and most of Pokemon were now spread throughout the cave. Heatran and Jirachi had stayed however.

My personal volcano was acting as a pillow, her warm body thrumming as I leaned back against her. I scratched that special spot just behind her mask and smiled at the growl of pleasure I got in return.

Jirachi was sitting in M'gann's lap, the pair listening respectfully from the couch in front of the TV. Superboy was on his own chair, not seeming to pay attention.

In front of me were my journals. I had worked on them consistently for a week, and was now organizing them. M'gann, being a curious sort, had asked what I was doing when she caught me working on the floor while Superboy watched static (What was up with that?).

"That's an obvious statement of course." I said with a shrug. "But it's worse than most people think. So what I'm doing is thinking of every possible threat I can think of and categorizing them by how dangerous they are."

"Doesn't Batman do that?" Superboy asked idly, proving the static-filled screen didn't stop his super-ears.

"He does." I admitted. "But because of who I am, what I am, I have access to knowledge of certain threats he doesn't. If I can list them off, let him know who they are, he can prepare for the future."

"And of course," I felt I had to add. "This is my job as a Pokemon Trainer. It's what I do."

"What does that mean by the way?" M'gann asked, patting Jirachi, who had been eerily silent for a while as she listened to me. "A Pokemon Trainer."

"Oh boy." I let out a breath of air as I clucked my teeth. "It's a lot of things I guess. But, for me personally, a Pokemon Trainer and their Pokemon are a team. They live, train, and fight together. My job is to lead them. And to do that, I need to be smart. I need to know not only how they fight, but how my opponents do."

I tapped my head. "I may not have the personal muscle just yet. But I have a whole bunch of knowledge in this brain o' mine. So I might as well back it up."

I lifted a journal and opened a page. "Here's an example of a pretty big threat we might face down the road. His name is Trigon." I winced. "Might want to avoid his name though. He's a magic force. A dimensional being of immense power, a creature the size of planets, one who has eaten thousands of worlds, with his sights possibly set on Earth."

"What!?" M'gann leaned forward, startling Jirachi, who flew up and looked around frantically in confusion. "We should do something!"

The fierce look of determination on her face was adorable, and made me fight to smile in the face of her earnest wish to help.

"We will." I said firmly. "But like I said, he's an example. I wouldn't know how to find him, and Batman would need time to figure out how to tear him down."

"The size of planets…" Superboy said the words slowly, like they would make more sense if he did so. "That doesn't sound possible. The physics wouldn't work. No living creature can be that big."

"No living creature according to what we know of the universe." I reminded him as firmly as I could. "Trigon is just an example, as I said. But there are a hell of a lot more things out there. If I can put them on paper though, they stop becoming mysteries. The key to conquering fear is understanding it. Confronting it."

I tapped the journals spread out before me. "These are my way of doing that. The biggest advantage most of the big bad's in the universe have is that no one knows enough about them until it's too late. But I do know about them. I can at least name them. And once I name them, I can tell everyone how to beat them."

"…How do you know about them?" Superboy asked, his voice a bit rough as he turned to look at me curiously. "How do you know so much?"

M'gann was also staring at me. Jirachi landed on top of her head, the pair sharing the same expressive curiosity.

Put on the spot, I couldn't think what to say. This whole time I'd been talking, I hadn't thought of how to explain my knowledge. Saying it came out of nowhere meant making the information suspect. Even if Batman told them to trust me, it wouldn't be the same as them truly doing so. And if I told them the truth, it meant possibly revealing everything.

Why didn't I just tell them? Their elders knew. Why shouldn't they?

But considering the mistrust, anger, and outright hostility I'd gotten from some of the League…

"I'll tell you soon." I said finally, trying to sound nonchalant. "But only after our next mission. I want to make sure I have more facts before I tell you guys."

That satisfied no one. Superboy turned back to the screen, growling in frustration. M'gann seemed disappointed, looking up at Jirachi on top of her head. Jirachi looked down at her, and shrugged, floating over to land on my head.

We sat in awkward silence for a while. Heatran was cooling just a bit against my back, a sure sign that the sudden weirdness in the air was making her nervous.

You should tell them Master.

I didn't react. I continued to work on my journals. Still, I was surprised. I suppose I knew, on an intellectual level, that my Pokemon had the same experiences as me, and so would know about this world and its secrets, or at least would know that I knew. But there's a difference between knowing, and _knowing._

I responded in my own thoughts, confident Jirachi had kept the link between us.

I can't. I thought to her. Not now.

Why? Jirachi asked innocently, nestling into my hair. Don't you trust them?

Goddamn it. From the mouths of babes.

…You don't have to be scared. Jirachi hugged my head. We'll protect you.

I had to shut down my thoughts immediately. If she knew, for a fact, that I was at best an imposter, and at worst a liar, that the closest claim I had to her was that I'd played a video game that had her in it, I'd lose her.

I'd lose all my Pokemon.

Why the hell did the thought make me so sad?

Oh Master, Jirachi thought to me sadly, apparently responding to my shutting her out. You dummyhead.

Later, when I realized the true power of the small being on my head, I'd realize what she meant by that.


	11. Punch-Out!

I spent the rest of the day pouring over my notes, trying my best to cover everything I could. The Blackest Night, the Infinite Crisis, the Crime Syndicate, and even minor things like Ambush Bug, were all listed. The idea is that with Batman's help, I could cross-reference the information with his files, as well as talk to experts in various fields. With that, we could start a real database of the future, and take down threats long before they realized we knew about them.

I tried to finish as much as I could, working in my spartan bedroom throughout the day. When I woke up the next morning, I was in my bed. At first I thought I'd managed to slip in myself, until a creak at the door lead me to look up and see a round pink shape slipping out the door.

Chansey. Always taking care of me.

I woke at 6 am, feeling like crap. I spent a brief hour in the morning getting some breakfast, just two bottles of water, coffee and an energy bar (because I was worried if I ate to much I'd start throwing up during my workout), saying goodbye to the others in the cave, aka Superboy, M'gann, and my other Pokemon. I found myself feeling sad. With all the prep I was doing, I wasn't spending as much time as I wanted with my Pokemon and the Team. Hopefully, with the Batman's training regimen, I could get more time down the road.

I came back to New York with Chansey's Pokeball at my waist. The rest of my Pokemon were at the cave, relaxing or doing their own thing, such as Heatran, Jirachi and Chesnaught, who were designing their rooms under the watchful eyes of Red Tornado.

I hoped they would have fun. Hopefully with Red Tornado, Miss Martian, and Superboy, they make rooms to their hearts content.

PYJ

Heatran swam in the depths of the earth, and felt at peace.

Heatran felt sorry for Master and her friends. They couldn't swim in the hotness, feel the warmth and the good things. But that was okay, because her friends were strong, and Master was smart, even if Jirachi and Chansey said he could be dumb.

But how could he be dumb? Master was always taking care of them, and giving her good things to eat.

Heatran burbled with joy, thinking of the delicious meal of granite and clean marble she'd had.

And the best part about Master was she was no longer angry. Master made her smile, and feel happy even when things were scary.

Master made her good, when she used to be bad.

And now, Master said she could make her own room! He said to make the walls strong, and Master's friend (He was a Steel-Type too!) said to avoid any human things.

So Heatran dug out her room, and made as much room as she could for Master and her friends, with walls of metal, and good rocks to eat.

Master would be really proud.

Maybe he would give her more things to keep her good?

PYJ

Feeling like something weird was going on behind my back, I entered the gym and found Wildcat standing there, talking on the phone.

As I came in, he put it away, suddenly looking a hell of a lot closer to his age for some reason. He shook it off quick, giving me his rough smile. "Hey kid. Ready to go I see."

I nodded. In preparation, I wore some sweats and a simple t-shirt.

"Good. Put on the rest and we'll get started."

I wanted to groan. I wanted complain, and bitch, and moan about what was to come. Instead I walked over with my bag to a bench and opened it to take out the items I needed. As I did, I got a message on my phone, which I quickly answered.

It was a text from Wally. "Here now, see ya Red!"

Then the phone was out of my hands and Wally West stood before me.

"Oh my god!" I yelped, shocked at the feel of the phone disappearing only for Wally to be standing there.

"Sweet Christmas!" Wildcat barked, stepping back as he stared at Wally only to growl. "Damnit kid, you nearly-"

"Aw man!" Wally groaned. "I was hoping I could beat the text here!"

"Ignoring my sudden heart attack, I think text goes the speed of light." I spat out. "You aren't that fast yet, Mustard Speedster."

Wally ignored me, instead looking over at Wildcat. "Whoa. You have a lot of muscle for an older guy."

"Clean living." Wildcat said wryly. "You know, Jay had this habit I enjoyed. It's called knocking."

Wally finally looked embarrassed, and rubbed his head sadly. "Sorry. I got excited. You guys getting started yet?"

"No." I said, already focusing myself on what was to come. Putting on my final piece of equipment, I grabbed Chansey's Pokeball and released her. She looked around, gave Wildcat a nod that was a lot more stern than a being that looked like her should have been capable of (Which he returned without a hint of irony), before turning to me.

"Ready me amiga?" I asked her.

"Chansey." She replied firmly.

"Okay kid." Wildcat cracked his neck. "We have to do the work of months in the next few damn weeks. Get to warming up."

With a feeling of both dread and a bit of excitement, I grabbed a jumping rope and began.

PYJ

Nearing hour six, I was punching a boxing bag under Ted's watchful eyes. On my wrists were two red wrist bands. On my ankle were two blue ones. And, wrapping around my body, was a metal and plastic contraption.

All these items were from my world, all made to enhance and improve the stats of the wearer. The red wristbands increased Attack, the blue ones increased Speed, and the black and grey contraption worked all over. The Power Bracer, Power Anklet, and Macho Brace.

At least, in the Pokemon universe. A bit of research here had revealed that they still worked, and did so on humans, much like the potions. And yet, not as quickly as they would on Pokemon, more proof of the accelerated learning and training speeds of Pokemon.

Of course, there was no real way to measure their effects on such nebulous concepts like 'defense' and 'special attack', on humans, other than maybe seeing how bulletproof someone got or if their ability to throw things got stronger.

But they did work, the technology within them increasing pressure on the user until they could only move while pushing themselves to the limit. As far as we could tell. In many ways, I was technically the band's first test subject in this universe.

Lucky me. My appreciation of this fact was further marred by the fact I was the one who'd suggested them as a workout item in the first place, an irony that wasn't lost on me.

Altogether, my every move felt like I was living in gravity twenty times stronger than Earths. Lifting my arms up to block, let alone punch, made me want to scream. I jabbed at the bag in front of me, my arms in enormous amounts of pain, trying to follow the way Ted had showed me how to do it. I'd been at this for ten minutes, punching over and over as I moved around the bag, working as hard as I could.

Chansey watched behind Ted, her eyes narrowed as she followed my every movement. Chansey was there for one reason. To work as my own personal healing factor.

It is a testament to how screwed up I was from the Lasso that I had seemingly ignored the important information on Chansey's healing abilities. Namely, that rather than simply reversing the damage like Jirachi did, Chansey simply sped the healing process even as she rejuvenated dead cells.

Which meant that we could accelerate the rate at which my muscles healed, allowing me to work at top strength for hours without any of the drawbacks, thereby speeding up the rate at which I could progress.

This was nothing new to the DC Universe. Various martial arts, magic, and government organizations had similar technologies, techniques or abilities that allowed to the same thing. There was even theories that the Lazarus Pit was used for similar accelerated training.

Hell, even the movie of Wanted did it, using some weird candle bath things. Granted, here's hoping I stay the hell away from that comic book universe.

Still, the whole thing left me feeling horrific.

Push-ups, pull-ups, weights, cardio, over and over, my muscles screaming, sweat and tears pouring down my face. Those five hours had been the hardest of my life. It didn't matter that I got healed over and over. I could be put back in a fresh body, but my mind knew damn well what was going on.

Ted was awesome though. He never made me workout with doing so as well, hitting the bags and lifting weights right alongside me, and never needing Chansey's healing, though he did accept it after the pink creature made it clear it was going to happen.

He pushed me to the brink, his voice calm but firm. He never overworked me, but he also made sure I never gave it less than my hardest. I got water and snacks in doses as the hours went, Chansey healing in those times.

Ted made sure she was never a crutch.

"You won't always have her." Wildcat told me roughly. "Trust me. Sometimes you can get stuck in the bowels of hell, nothing to keep you going but your will. At that moment, you don't want to be depending on magic and tech." He slapped his chest. "This. Your body, and everything it carries. At the end of the day, that's something you can depend on to be right there with you. You can lose your allies, your tools, and even your clothes. But as long as you've got what matters, the whole damn universe can stick it."

He was right. I was a Pokemon Trainer now of course, and I would never forsake my Pokemon. But I was also the first one here.

As I slammed my fist into the bag, trying not to swear as my exhausted arms tried to fall, the thought consumed me.

I am the first. Maybe, I could start a new tradition here? Pokemon Trainers who worked their bodies and minds to be able to command and work with their Pokemon, ones who could fight alongside and support them, could be terrors on the battlefield.

In a sense, I really was Red. The first, and maybe one day, like he was, the best, the one all others had to live up to.

Even as those thoughts drifted, Ted stopped me to adjust my stance, twisting my hip to show how to apply more power in my punch. I followed his direction and grunted at the sight of the bag swinging just a bit further in response. I tried again, but didn't get the same response. Keeping calm, I adjusted myself once more, and got a satisfied nod from Wildcat when I succeeded.

Chansey, who had been intently watching, nodded as well, apparently just as satisfied as Ted. She then looked up as the final person entered the room, eating something from a bag that smelled delightfully cheesy.

"Still at it?" Wally West asked, sounding bored and relaxed, two feelings I could only dream of at that moment. "Man Red, you are being really boring."

"Hey Mustard Boy, maybe you could stand to hit the bag a few times yourself." I growled, slamming the bag again.

Wally smirked. In a blink, he ran over to a boxing bag on the other side of the room, leaving his chips to slowly fall to the ground, hit the bag what had to be several dozen times, then ran back to grab his chips before they fell an inch.

"Nah, doesn't seem to do much for me." He said with a smirk.

Being the mature adult I was, I naturally stuck my tongue out at him, getting a chuckle in response. Ted smacked my head, though it was a very light blow.

"Come on kid, keep working." He said good naturedly. "I wanna see how you do on the Salmon Ladder again. Maybe we can get you to actually go up a rung or two."

"I ain't Green Arrow damnit." I growled out.

"Why do you keep saying that every time I mention the Salmon Ladder?" Ted asked, confused.

Deciding against explaining the fine points of a universe where Oliver Queen and not Bruce Wayne became the quintessential dark vigilante, I instead focused on working.

Kid Flash, once more bored, sped out. He'd been doing that all day.

I'm afraid that I was a disappointment to the Mustard Speedster. A guy can only watch another guy huff and puff on a weight bench for so long before it gets creepy after all. And any attempt at conversation with Wildcat was answered with simple short answers.

Ted had his full focus on my workout and his, pushing himself as well as me to the limits of our strength. He had no time for idle conversation.

See? That right there is the kind of dedication that makes a hero damnit.

So, while Wildcat and I worked out, Kid Flash ran in and out of the room. Each time he would have a new snack or toy. After a while, I was starting to wonder what the hell he was doing behind the scenes of this whole thing.

Finally, after exactly six hours…

"Time!" Wildcat announced, slowly lowering his massive frame down from the pull-up bar. His muscles shifted as he lowered, and he sighed in satisfaction as he landed on the floor and wiped his hands together. "Nothing like a light workout to work up a sweat!"

"…you're screwing with me." My words were muffled. That's because the instant he said we were done, I'd falling from my own pull up bar and landed on the ground, my face mashed on the carpet, with was wonderfully cool on my skin, if very itchy.

"A little bit." He admitted with a chuckle. "Okay Ms. Chansey! Your patient will see you now."

As Chansey hopped down from a bench and came over, I rolled onto my back. "Thanks for doing this girl." I told Chansey, looking up at her with a weak grin. "Sorry you had to stay so long."

Chansey made an odd sound, cocking an eyebrow, then smiled. "Chansey." She patted my head, then activated her Heal Pulse.

Even after constantly feeling the pulse of energy, it still felt like dipping my body in a hot tub as a Swedish bikini troupe massaged me. Awesome.

With a groan of happiness I slowly rose up and cracked my neck. "Heal Pulse. Better than a thousand hospitals."

Chansey gave a tired sigh, sitting down slowly. I gave her concerned look. She looked wiped. Chansey may not have been working out with us, but she'd been healing us at a pretty constant rate.

"You want to rest?" I asked her, leaning down to put a hand on her shoulder. Chansey looked up and nodded sleepily, her eyes struggling to stay open.

By the time I put her into her Pokeball, she was snoring cutely.

"She going to be all right?" Wildcat asked, wiping himself off with a towel.

I nodded, looking at the ball in my hand thoughtfully. "Yeah. She just needs to rest. Pokemon are pretty strong, but they need rest like any other being."

"Most others." Wildcat corrected me. "You headed out now."

"Yep." I grabbed my bag and slipped it on. "I have to head out and meet Wonder Woman and one of my other Pokemon."

"Huh. Right." Wildcat slowed down just a bit. He scratched his head. "Uh… tell Diana I say hi okay?" He said, his rough voice becoming just a bit more gravelly.

I didn't show any reaction. In a few universes, Wildcat and Wonder Woman had an attraction to each other, one built on respect and mutual interests.

Of course, there were a few universes where Wonder Woman had originally been Diana's mom.

The Multiverse is a weird damn place, thought the normal human walking around a DC cartoon with anime monsters.

"I'll tell her." I said with a smile. "Later Wildcat."

"Later Red."

PYJ

"It was so boring man." Wally groused as the Zeta Tube behind us shut. "All I did was stand around and watch you workout. For hours." He groaned theatrically as we stepped into the cave. "My muscles hurt, and I didn't even do anything!"

"Lucky you." I said unsympathetically. "What were you doing anyways? You kept disappearing."

"Oh you know," He replied nonchalantly. "Ran around the city, saw the sights." His face became something a pervy anime character would sport. "I tell you, New York City has the most beautiful girls in the world!"

"Oh, so you got a date then?" I asked as I threw my bag onto a couch. "I mean, you are Kid Flash, superhero extraordinaire. Surely you asked the extremely hot woman of New York for a date during the six hours we were there. You know, as opposed to just staring at them."

"…That was hurtful."

I felt like laughing my ass off at the sight of Wally looking so down. A sudden wind picked up from the ceiling, and we both looked up to see Red Tornado come down from his room upstairs, a red wind lowering him down as his blue cape fluttered in the wind.

Red Tornado is pretty cool. Android, former member of the JSA, current member of the Justice League, and a guy with more humanity than most. I hadn't talked to him much, but I was eager to do so.

"Trainer Red." He said, robotic voice echoing in the room. As he walked towards me, I couldn't help but notice how… inhuman his movements were. The differences between his movements and an organic beings were so subtle (Which was a testament to his makers genius), but they were there, that slightly jerky motion of his.

"Red Tornado." I said to him with a grin. "Hey. We're color bros."

Red Tornado stopped. His expression couldn't change, but I got the feeling I'd surprised him. "Ah. I see. Red. Clever."

"Not really." Kid Flash said as he grabbed some chips from the kitchen.

"I wanted to speak about your Pokemon." Red Tornado said. "When you approached me about giving them rooms of their own, I began making plans to section off parts of the cave. However, one of your Pokemon asked to wait until she was done with her own plans."

I blinked, confused at that. "Which one?"

PYJ

"Oh my god." Kid Flash said, sounding awed. "How…"

"It's pretty." M'gann added, sounding just as amazed.

"And really really big." I said, trying to look everywhere at once.

"You did this?" Superboy asked, sounding both impressed and amazed.

Heatran, puffed up with pride, barked in answer, nodding happily.

"The Batman is not going to like this." Red Tornado said simply. Apparently he was a master of understatement.

Starting from what was once the back wall of a room furthest out in the Cave, was a massive cavern. It was as big as three aircraft hangers from end to end, and coated all over in metal of varying shades and colors. The top was completely smooth, arching like a bowl. The bottom was mostly flat, but there were some conspicuous rocks all over the floor, giving it the feel of a paintball course.

This entire massive construction, done underneath a mountain on which people hiked and camped, with super beings and technology literally a room away, had been made in absolute silence, in under six hours.

"Heatran, we need to talk about something called overkill." I told my lava monster.

Her only response was a confused burble of noise.


	12. Farming For Dummies

A while after I found out about Heatran's attempt to make her own lair (And the success of it), I was sitting on a beach, relaxing in the sun as the waves blew by.

"So I handled the situation the way any grown human being would. I ran for it, and am currently hoping Batman will have trouble finding me on an island in the middle of the Pacific. All because Heatran is the greatest natural engineer of caves in the world."

Mugyuu, Latias said softly. Heatran still needs to learn about the human world.

I patted her slowly. For a moment, I forgot the waves and the sun, and simply enjoyed the presence of Latias.

I'd missed her. I had no idea how much, but god I missed her.

She looked healthy. Her feathers were glistening as she rested against my side. On her wrists were a new pair of bracers, fitted to her body. I had yet to ask about those. She rubbed her head against my chest, and hugged me close.

It's great to have friends man.

"So why did you run?" That curious question came from Wonder Woman, who was sitting down on the beach with me, wearing her standard uniform.

I looked over at her. As always, she was gorgeous. And as always, that was an understatement. She was the most beautiful woman I've ever met, combined with intelligence and badassery to boot. She was also someone I respected highly.

And that made her the reason my visits with Latias were so few and far between.

Thanks to the Lasso, every minute around Diana had been torture. She lived as a constant reminder of my failures and weaknesses. The biggest lie we tell ourselves is that our hopes for ourselves and others are unrealistic. Yet Diana carried herself like someone I'd want to be every day.

Even now, while I could recognize those feeling and fight them, it still made sitting with her hard. Which is why, rather than answering her question, I had to close my eyes and fight off the shudder. When I opened my eyes again, Wonder Woman was looking me.

"The Lasso still affects you, doesn't it?" She said, smiling in a melancholy way.

Yes. I was startled when Latias answered for me. She raised her, nudging me with a sad sigh. Master is still hurting. He say bad words to himself.

"Not all the time." I grumbled. I rubbed a spot between Latias' ears, smirking at the pleased growl I get from her. "You also shouldn't talk about me like I'm not here."

I looked at Diana. I hesitated, like what I was going to say wasn't grand enough for ears. "I… get jealous. Of you, of Superboy, of my Pokemon. Just a little. Wishing I could fly or punch through walls. And when I do… the memories of the Lasso ome out. And I hate myself for it. Then I hate you for making me feel that way, which leads to me hating myself for hating you."

I laugh humorously. "I'm stuck in a cycle, and the best way I could find of leaving it is to avoid one of the only creatures on this earth that truly trusts me and the woman who was always my favorite superhero."

She nods at that. It isn't anything obvious. Yet, that little motion, that show of understanding, fils me with relief. We sit there, the waves and sun around giving the world a bit of piece.

"I wear the Lasso as a part of my morning ritual." Diana finally said.

"I know." I tell her, not looking away from the ocean.

"Then you know what that means." Diana's voice becomes a bit haunted. "Even I, for all that I strive to be more, have those moments Mahmoud. Those days of jealousy, anger, doubt. I feel jealous of Batman, for the level of skill he's obtained while only being mortal, and Superman, for having so much strength he rarely needs to strive anymore. I feel anger towards my sisters, who ignore all my tales of the virtues of Man's World in favor of what I tell them about Man's brutality, and even more anger towards Men, who still see me as a 'Straw Feminist who doesn't know her place."

Diana's voice, despite her words, were filled with a calm and peace I've never heard from another person.

"And I doubt myself. I have strived since the days of World War II to protect Themiscyra and Man's World, to bring them together, to be a bridge between them. Somedays I think I've done well. Others I despair for the futility of it all."

She chuckles. "But wearing the Lasso helps me deal with that. To bring my faults into the light and confront them. After all. If, in facing the truth of myself, I find myself faltering, how can I face the evils around me?"

She turns to me. I turn to her. And she smiles.

My heart stops.

I don't think I'll fall in love with Wonder Woman. I'll admire her, emulate her. But a relationship would feel too awkward.

Even so, looking at that smile… it's easy to see why it would be easy to fall in love with the Princess of Truth.

"The Lasso reveals our weakness. But it also reveals our strengths. I ask you to hold to that Mahmoud. You've already taken your first steps. Find the strength your Pokemon see so clearly within you, and trust in it."

From anyone else, cliché. Anyone else. Not her. Never her.

I swore then and there I would never give Wonder Woman reason to be disappointed in me.

"…Thank you." I blinked, then rubbed at my eyes. "Oh good lord, am I crying?" I rubbed harder, shocked at the wetness. "Oh come on! That's just embarrising."

"We should have a talk about acceptance of your emotions soon." Diana chuckled. "Now. What will you do about Batman?"

I winced. "Actually, I wanted to ask you a question. Themiscyra has islands right?"

Diana cocked her head. "Um… it is an island."

Nobody said anything. Then I relized, in my haste to change the subject, I'd messed up my words. "Oh, right, sorry. I meant libraries. Not uh," I coughed, embarrassed. "Not islands."

Laughing gently, she nodded. "Yes, we do libraries. Why?"

The smile on my face was nothing compared to glee inside me.

The Libraries of Themiscyra. I betted there were some really cool books there.

"What's your return policy like?"

 **PYJ**

An hour or so later, I was coating on the breeze. "How do you feel Latias!?" I yelled, my hair whipping around in the wind as we careened through the skies. My mind connected with Latias' allowing me to feel her wing muscles twitch instinctively to catch the wind, her eyes spanning across the sky before us.

Weeeeeeeeeee! Came her childlike reply, a cute smile on her face as she cartwheeled in Mega-form.

I let out a shout of happiness, lifting an arm up to feel it drift on the air around us.

We were one. That's the only explanation for it. In that moment, high above the ocean, our minds blended…

Oh shit. I might be accidently doing my own personal Eragon homage… Aw well.

Still, enjoying the breeze and the weightlessness of flight made all my problems disappear. At least until we started coming in over Mount Justice.

"Okay, hold up girl." We stopped over the mountain, drifting high above it. I looked at her. "Is he there?"

Latias' voice was amused. I have no idea why she found the idea of me being afraid of Batman so hilarious, but she seemed halfway to giggling at the very thought.

He's there. She told me. Jirachi says he's mad.

Latias jumped in the air, a startled look on her face.

"What?" I asked her, worried.

…Jirachi says to tell you Batman knows you're here. He wants to talk.

…Good lord. Batman really does know everything.

Biting the bullet, we headed down.

When I entered, Batman was looking at me. I hadn't been this scared of him since my first 'interview' under the Lasso.

"I'm not angry." So hearing that was a shock.

"…Is this a trick?" Just behind him I saw a shock of red hair poking behind a counter. The shock of red hair was shortly joined by a yellow cone, both clearly hiding.

"No." Batman said simply. Behind him, what was clearly Jirachi and Wally moved 'stealthily' closer. "I recognize that this was most likely her decision."

At his nod, I look down at my belt. On it was Latias and Heatran's Pokeballs. I lifted Heatran's ball, sighing.

"It wasn't her fault Batman." Beyond the Dark Knight, the yellow cone and red hair began to move back and forth, clearly arguing. Ignoring that, I continued. "She just wanted to make a room for me and her friends. She didn't understand what using all that room would mean."

"I may not be angry." His firm words sent a chill up my spine. "But I know why this happened." He pointed at me. "Your Pokemon may listen to your orders. But they need to learn how to make decisions without you on hand."

His arm lowered, cape fluttering. "As it is, we were lucky. Heatran shored up the new section of the cave with metal dozens of feet thick. The entire structure is somehow holding the weight of the mountain with ease, and seismic sensors in the area have registered nothing but what they assume to be false reports."

He shakes his head. "Regardless. You need to start spending time with your Pokemon teaching them what they are and are not allowed to do. If one like Zapdos were to create a hurricane just to vent his anger…"

I winced. Zapdos actually did have a tendency to want to do things like that. "…Okay."

Batman stared at me a moment longer. His gaze was heavy, bearing down on me.

"We will be turning the area into a new training zone." His voice brooked no argument. "Your punishment and Heatran's are to personally work on making it suitable for use. For one month. Digging, shaping, and flattening the floor, as well as installing all its devices."

"That's not fair!" I winced at how much my voice sounded like a little kids.

"You are leader of your Pokemon." Batman turned and began to walk towards the Zeta Tubes. "If you can't even be there for them in their mistakes… how can you expect to celebrate their successes?"

As the light of the Zeta Tube flashed, Wally spoke behind me. "Dude, I feel for you."

When I turned, I was surprised to see more than Jirachi and Wally. Chesnaught, Superboy, and Miss Martian were there as well.

"So you heard all that?" I asked with a chuckle. "I guess I got off light though, right?"

Chesnaught chuckled, walking over to gently pat my back. Superboy was frowning, confused.

"I don't understand," He said. "You didn't do anything. Why is he giving you chores?"

"Because a leader needs to be able to account for the actions of their team." I said, now getting the lesson. "Heatran may have made a mistake, but I need to start being clear with my requests and orders. I need to teach my Pokemon."

I looked up at Chesnaught. "Well buddy. What do you think? Back to basics?"

"Chesnaught." Was the agreeing growl I got, a massive grin on the Grass Knight's face.

Is she here!? Jirachi, apparently really excited now, zoomed forward to look at me with imploring eyes. Did you bring Big Sis?

Big Sis? When the hell did that become a thing?

"You brought another Psychic-type, right?" M'gaan floated over, apparently as excited as Jirachi. "Let us meet her!"

"You have _another_ one?" Wally asked, sounding exasperated. "Dude, PETA is going to hate you."

"Fuck PETA." Damn, I really was cussing a lot lately. With that said, I released Latias.

She rose up, shaking her red feathers with a sigh. She sighted Chesnaught and Jirachi, and smiled joyously.

Hey guys! She rushed forward to hug Chesnaught, who responded like a little kid trying to be cool while his mom hugged him in front of his friends.

"She's adorable!" M'gaan chirped, hands clasping as her eyes sparkled.

"Yeah." Wally gave me a look. "What's up with that? Most of your Pokemon look like something that a Japanese manga artist drew."

Even as I wondered at if Wally saying that was coincidence or irony, Superboy was walking off.

"Whatever." He said bluntly. "Let me know when there's something to fight."

 **PYJ**

The rest of the day went pretty normal. Latias said hi to everyone, new and old. We had rice and meat together while Wally went back home. And before I slept I started studying Batman's Art of War.

It was a comprehensive read. Everything was covered. In truth, according to Batman anyways, the principles of combat don't change as much as one would think in the world of superhumans. The high ground for example, will always be a treasured princible of combat. The one who owns the high ground, be it hill, mountain, sky, or space, is the one that has the advantage overall.

Still, it made me think. There were so many little things to go over. Small bits and pieces that could make a huge difference.

Resource management. That was the big one. Keeping a flow of supplies, and making them work for you. Food, water, and tools. They weren't the end all, be all of war, and well-fed army could still be beaten by a starving one. But it was something more than worth studying.

What did that mean for my Pokemon? Or the Team? Did my responsibilities end with my Pokemon? Could I help my teammates as well?

Even as I wondered, a critical thought struck me.

 **PYJ**

"What is the team called?" M'gaan looked at me. That late at night, my Pokemon were asleep. She was on the couch, watching some sitcom. As I walked in, she hurriedly turned off the tv as some long haired pretty boy smiled at a redhead.

"Oh, um…" She stared at me, trying despretaly to pretend she wasn't hiding anything. "What was the question?"

I grinned at the redhead and flopped down next to her. "The Team. What do we call ourselves? What's our name?"

She blinked once. Twice. Then leaned her chin against her hand and thought, looking adorable as her face scrunched.

"Uh… I don't think we have a name." She gave me look that said it never occurred to her before. "Do we need one?"

"Hell yeah we do." The thought had been a sudden one. I knew the show based in this universe was called Young Justice (Thought hell if the other facts still weren't coming). But Young Justice seemed a bit… demeaning to me. It made it sound like they were supposed to be a Junior Justice League, the ones you called when the real heroes weren't around.

"Why?" M'gann interrupted my musing, a curious look on her face. "I don't see a problem with having a name, but what's wrong with just calling ourselves the Team?"

"Nothing." I admitted, flopping over slightly. "But we need a mythos."

"Mythos? What is that?" She asked.

"Mythos. It's…" I thought for a bit, trying to figure out what to say. I snapped my fingers, startling M'gann. "Do you have a favorite fictional story? Like a movie, or a TV show?"

"Yes!" Huh, a bit loud on that one. She seemed to realize that, blushing prettily. I had to fight the urge to pat her head, something I used to do to my siblings.

"Well, it probably has something instantly recognizable about it. Like a saying that a character repeats through it, or an item from it." The enthusiastic nod I got from her made me smile. "It's a symbol, something that immediately brings the series to mind. Superman's symbol is a part of his mythos. Wonder Woman's Lasso is another example."

"So we need a name so we can have a mythos?" She sounded, and looked skeptical, eyebrow quirked slightly upwards. "I thought we were supposed to be secret."

"To the general public, sure." I agreed, rubbing the top of my head. "But if we don't choose a name ourselves, one we like, someone else will come up with one. Do you want to be known as a member of the 'Little League'?"

"Ugh." The distaste I got at that was funny. She scrunched her face up, sticking her tongue out a bit. "No."

I laughed, and got a pleased smile from her. She looked up at the ceiling. "Well… maybe we should talk to everyone? That way we can come up with it together!"

Huh. Good point. No need to make a name if the others would just shut it down.

"Yeah. In the meantime, let's come up with a few good ones to run by them."

The happy nod I got from M'gann made me smile once more. It was easy to like M'gann. She was a cute kid, and way too sweet to feel negative towards.

Maybe one day I could tell her the truth. That I knew she was a White Martian, and the thought wasn't a scary one. That she had no need to hide that from me.

Burying the guilty thought, I started thinking of names.

"So… how about Trainer Red and the Reddetes?"

The look I got made my night.

 **PYJ**

The next day I was in the new area. As I joke I'd called it a gym, and declared myself Gym Leader.

My Pokemon got it, and the chuckle I got from Chesnaught was gratifying. Superboy and Red Tornado apparently thought I was crazy.

M'gann was off visiting her uncle, so it was just me, the Teen of Steel, and the Crimson Wind to represent the non Pokemon. The other two watched as I petted a mortified Heatran.

"It's not such a bad thing girl." I told her as she looked up at me, eyes steaming as her tears hit her hot skin.

You didn't know. Latias floated over, a worried look on her face as she nudged at Heatran, trying to comfort her. It's okay.

Dammit. I bet Batman knew it would go down like that. How do you yell at someone who's in tears at the mere thought you're disappointed in them?

"Listen, it's not a big deal now." I scratched that spot behind Heatran's mask that made her happy most times. She calmed down, looking into my eyes. "Just remember. Next time you want to make any real changes to an environment, ask me or Red Tornado."

Heatran looked over at the Tornado Champion. He stepped forward.

"Hello Heatran. I am, as Trainer Red has said, Red Tornado. I apologize for taking so long to make your acquaintance."

Huh. That was a lot more cordial than most. People tended to treat most of my Pokemon like animals at first. Then again, I guess Red Tornado knew a thing or two about being discriminated against due to species.

Heatran barked in greeting.

She says hello. Latias translated.

I waited for Red Tornado to respond, only to realize that, as an AI, he couldn't hear Latias. "She says hi."

"Indeed." Red Tornado gestured to the area. "Now. I believe you both have work to do."

Heatran looked at me, to which I nodded. "We're going to start fixing the place up. Making it a place we can use for all sort of things."

"Why am I here?" Superboy asked. He didn't sound irritated or anything, just his normal self. So, irritated I guess, but only in that whole 'hate the entire world' sense as opposed to anything specific.

I turned to look at him. So did Latias, Heatran, and Red Tornado. We all stared at him.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"Dude… you followed us." I said slowly.

"Trainer Red is correct." Red Tornado said in his robotic tones. "When I declared we would begin reconstruction before he would leave to train with Ted, you came along. Not that I disapprove."

"…Oh." He coughed, trying his best to look cool.

"But having you here is cool." I smiled at him. "We can hang. Get to know each other. Discuss favorite foods and all that."

Superboy didn't seem to know how to handle that. Once again, he defaulted into his 'bad boy' form. Which worked for him. No wonder M'gann had a crush on him, the kid was bait for teenage girls.

Maybe we could push him into a modeling career?

"Socializing is allowed, as long as you continue your task." I have to admit, maybe it was his robotic voice, but Red Tornado was very good at the 'stern father-figure' voice.

"Right. Heatran, I need you to…" I grabbed a file from the rock I'd set it on, flipping it open. Latias floated over to read with me.

Wow. Batman is really smart. Latias said softly, her eyes widening as she read along with me.

"Truer words were never spoken." I responded, lifting a hand up to rub her neck.

"What is that?" Superboy walked up to read along, giving me flashbacks to when I'd first read my training schedule in Ted's gym with both Pokemon and Superheroes looking over my shoulder.

"Batman saw the new space, and came up with an idea for the new floor plan we'll be using." I flipped a page to a map. "The first job is building a small farm."

"A farm?" The half-confused, half-disgusted tone of Superboy's voice made me chuckle. "Why would we need that?"

"Because we currently have the ability to make one." I turned to smile at Heatran. "We have a bunch of Pokemon, all of which will need a constant source of food. Having an in-house source will be useful."

Superboy read further, then smirked. "It says here it's just a test of your abilities in controlling Heatran. And that it will probably be taken down afterwards."

Dammit. I was hoping he wouldn't read that far. It's minor, I know, but I hate the idea of doing all this work just to see it get torn apart.

Still, I understood what Batman was trying to teach me. And a bit of thought had given me the answer.

"Okay Heatran." I walked over to the section of land that was to be worked on. After a bit of thought, I dragged my foot around, making some scratches on the gravel with my shoe. Soon I had a rough square.

"Okay Latias. Set up a barrier around everyone except Heatran."

Yep! With that cry, a clear bubble snapped around us.

Then I backed way the hell away. "Girl. Use Magma Storm on that spot. Keep it low and contained."

The minute the word 'magma' came out of my mouth, Red Tornado and Superboy took a big step back. Heatran's eyes glowed with happiness at the mere thought of unleashing her powers again.

You can do it!

With Latias cheer, the inferno began.

I once saw footage of a tornado made of fire. I never looked up how it happened, how the physics of that went down, but even from a computer screen, that was an awe-inspiring sight.

Heatran blew that away.

The skin on my arms and face were suddenly too dry. A wall of spinning lava was spewing from Heatran's mouth. It flew upwards into a hurricane of molten stone, sustained by the sheer power within Heatran.

After a few minutes, I patted her on the shoulder. Heatran cut the flow off, and the storm faded away.

"So… was that enough?" Superboy asked.

Protected by Latias' barrier, the most I could feel was a stifling heat. Which probably meant the instant Latias dropped the protective mental force, the heat would char my skin like a chicken on a grill.

"Not yet." I said slowly, watching the melted earth in front of Heatran. "I need to mimic the effects that take place after a volcano eruption, which leads to rich soil in the area afterwards. To do that, I need to mix and match powers. So first. Heatran, use Hidden Power!"

Heatran's eyes glowed, and her body pulsed with energy. The air before her exploded into steam as she pulled heat from the area around her, forcing the air to rapidly cool. She unleashed the power on the earth, sending more steam into the air.

"Now, Earth Power!"

With another bark, the area in front of Heatran exploded upwards.

With me guiding her, she unleashed magma and ice on the area before churning it up with Earth Power, mimicking the work of centuries in a few minutes. It was a crazy thing to watch.

Finally, Heatran unleashed a last burst of ice, leaving the area warm, but not stifling so.

"Okay, that should be enough. Latias."

At my command, she released the barrier. I shivered when a cool mist drifted onto me, chilling my skin. The others, being immune in many ways, didn't even blink.

I stepped forward and leaned down to look at the soil left over. Made of the ash from Heatran's magma, cooled by her Hidden Power (Ice) and churned by Earth Power. I lifted it up, and stood, turning to Red Tornado.

"What do you think?"

He was silent for a second as he stared, then nodded. "Indeed. It does match reports and photos of volcanic soil. Though I suggest testing beforehand."

"Welp, good enough for me." I dropped the dirt and wiped my hands together. "Okay. Phase one done. The Pokemon Gym now has a farm."

Suck on that Poison Ivy. I'm going to put you out of business.

Of course, now I had to go back to the torture that was Ted Grant's AP Superhero Course.

Life is hard man.


	13. Moments of Progression

"Come on, push!" Wildcat roared, watching me work.

With a final scream, I curved my legs upwards and exploded, muscles clenching. For a breathless moment I was in the air, a metal pole in my hand and gravity fighting. Then the bar hit the next rungs, and I hung once more, feet dangling over the ground.

"You're getting pretty good."

Despite my pain, the compliment made me grin. Getting affirmation that my work was doing something solid was pretty awesome. Working out is fun. It hurts, sure. But the mere fact that you're doing good work for good reasons makes up for it.

Today was a very different training however. In order to keep from exposing me to too much of Chansey's power, in case it had unknown side effects like making me age faster or something. So I had a normal workout, as opposed to the superhuman gauntlet I'd been subjected to.

To make up for that though, something new was happening. And I couldn't help but feel excited, even as I felt nervous.

"Is it time?" I asked, wiping sweat from my brow.

Wildcat gave me a slightly disappointed look. "Since you apparently can't focus on your workout because of it, yes. Get your costume on."

I gave him a chagrined look. "Sorry. It's just-"

"I know kid." His disappointed look became a small smile. "I felt the same way. Now get your costume on and let's head out."

 **PYJ**

It only took a bit of time for me to get into costume. Wildcat was leagues faster. Practice I guess. Soon we walked out of his gym and entered the streets of New York.

"I don't feel right not having the full set." I admitted as we walked into the darker parts of New York City. I had exactly one Pokeball at my waist. A Pokeball I was to avoid using.

"The whole point of this patrol is to help you get experience." Wildcat reminded me patiently. "Can't do that if you're pulling out your Pokemon to do the work for you."

I frowned slightly. He had a point. But at the same time, Pokemon Trainers _were_ their Pokemon. I needed to be good at using them as well. Hell, considering the time I'd used my Pikachu to charge my cell phone-

Wait. What? I didn't have a Pikachu.

I stopped and lifted a hand to my aching head. Wildcat turned. "Kid, you okay?" He put a hand on my shoulder as I stared, horrified, at the Big Belly food wrapper on the ground.

My memories. I could, quite clearly, remember a time I'd asked my Pikachu, who I'd raised as a battler, to help charge my cell. She'd been miffed, but still smiled when she'd done it. I'd rewarded her with Pokepuffs.

All shit that was impossible.

No. Hell no. My memories were changing. How? Why? Who was doing it?

I had no time to consider that question. An explosion sounded out, dragging my attention up along with Wildcat's.

In the distance, an orange light danced.

"Fire." Wildcat grunted. He gave me a worried look. "You sure you're up for this?"

"If a migraine stops my first patrol…" I left the rest unsaid. I lifted up, cracking my neck slightly. "I'll follow you."

We took off at a steady jog. Soo we reached the site of the fire. A small apartment, the top floors burning. People were rushing out, choking on the smoke that poured out their former home. They stared at us as we came up. At that moment, as they stared at Wildcat, I saw a light appear in their eyes.

Hope.

Wildcat looked it over with an experienced eye.

"Okay. We need to make sure everyone is out. Basic rules. Keep your head low. Avoid any doors with handles hot to the touch. Bring out the big guy the second anything goes wrong."

I winced. "I can't bring him out! Chesnaught doesn't deal well with fire!"

Wildcat gave me a shocked look. "You telling me he's bulletproof, but _fire_ can hurt him!?"

"It's complicated!"

A small explosion sounded out. Wildcat shook his head.

"Doesn't matter! Put your rebreather on and follow me! Stay close!"

I nodded, reaching into my bag and pulling out the mask I'd been given, putting my goggles on as well, which made me look like some sort of insect. Wildcat pulled another one from somewhere in the skintight bodysuit, no idea how, and we rushed into the building.

Even with my suit regulating the temputure, the building felt like hell. Every step was horrifying. The fire wasn't huge. But its presence on the upper floors was obvious. We rushed upstairs.

THe first door Wildcat cracked open had a man and woman, blinded by the smoke, feebly reaching for the door. He lifted them up and passed them to me. I grabbed the man's arm and guided the pair to the staircase, leaving them to take the rest of the way.

When I came back, Wildcat had a kid in his arms, and was gently pulling an older woman along, the girls grandmother I think. I took them both, and this time took them inside.

Rushing upstairs, my heart pumping with fear as sweat poured from my body, I reached the second floor to hear a crack of wood splintering.

Wildcat had been busy. Four more people, a family of a mom and her kids, came towards me. I guided them out.

We kept that up for a while. And elderly couple, a babysitter with a kid and her dog, a nerdy guy who clutched a dvd set to his chest. Group by group, we emptied out the four stories.

My legs burned, and my lungs burned on recycled air. I had to keep wiping my mask of soot, and every creak on the floorboards beneath me made my heart clench.

Then, on the last group, a handicapped woman who couldn't use the stairs (The elevator was too dangerous), I came back from carrying her down three flights, adrenaline pumping.

"Kid!" Wildcat yelled as I came up.

"I'm coming!" Through my mask, my voice came out in a Darth Vader roar.

Which made me realize I would miss the Force Awakens. Damnit.

Pushing that minor concern in the same bin as the new problem with my memory, I focused on rushing down the hallway.

Wildcat came up to me, eyes sad. "It was a gas leak!" He told me, voice muffled by his own mask. "A kid. Teenager. Didn't make it."

I wanted to look, for a morbid moment. To see what the body of someone killed by such an explosion looked like.

I pushed aside that sick thought. "Anyone left?"

"They all got out!" Wildcat grabbed my shoulder. "Come on!"

We barely made it. As we rushed out, an explosion in the house went off. We didn't escape the explosion or anything movie-style. We were a few feet away and about to check on the former tenants of the building when an explosion sounded.

We turned in time to see what looked like a rocket take off from the building. I stared at it, unable to believe what I was seeing.

"What was that?"

"…don't know." Wildcat shook his head. "We'd have to double check on satellites or something." He turned to the tenants as the sound of sirens echoed. "You all okay?"

We didn't get an enthusiastic response. Understandable. They'd lost their homes. Still, a few gave us grateful looks.

Wildcat clapped my shoulder before pulling me along. "Come on. We want to avoid attention."

We ran before the fire department could reach the building.

I managed a look back before we left. A small girl was staring at me. Her eyes were full of tears, and she clutched a pink elephant to her chest. My heart clenched again.

"Will they be okay?" I asked, looking at my mentor.

"They're alive." He said curtly. "After that, it's all down to what they do next. Now come on. We need to continue our patrol."

"We're not done?" I asked, honestly surprised.

"Nope." He jogged once more, leading me through the back alleys of the city. "One fire, as big as it was, jus' means we need to work harder to catch up. Save as many as we can."

My body groaned at the thought of more work. Still, I nodded.

Looked like my memory issues would have to be put aside. For now, I'd simply follow the Wildcat.

 **PYJ**

Jirachi stared at the computer in her room, a cute look of concentration on her face. She'd been working diligently for hours.

…Actually she'd been working on and off over the past few minutes. M'gann had given her some stuffed toys, and Jirachi found herself constantly grabbing them whenever one caught her eye. Even now, as she typed at the computer with one hand, the other was holding onto a tiger plush toy.

Jirachi?

Hmm? The tiny Pokemon turned to see Latias float into the room.

Jirachi smiled, and sent a wave of happiness and contentment towards the other Pokemon. The dragon smiled and floated over to rub her head against Jirachi, sending her the same feelings. They floated their together, simply enjoying the others presence, before Latias reluctantly floated back.

Chesnaught wanted me to look after you while he was out with Master. He thinks you're worried. Latias gave Jirachi a concerned smile. Are you okay?

Jirachi didn't hesitate. She'd never been the type to hide her emotions. Except from Master, because he got all worried, and he was always worried all the time, and Jirachi didn't want to be another worry.

I miss everyone else. Jirachi said honestly. Like Charizard and Genesect and Celebi and Dugtrio and…

Even at the speed of thought, Jirachi went on for a while. Latias waited patiently as Jirachi listed every Pokemon their Master had befriended and cared for.

And even Mewtwo! Even though he was mean, and scary, and always took Pokepuffs. Jirachi puffed her cheeks in irritation at the thought. Shaking the irritating thought of her fellow psychic type, she smiled once more.

So I want to find them! And M'gann said I can find anything on the internet, and I'm looking.

Latias stared at Jirachi for a moment, blinking. Jirachi… I don't think that's how it works.

Jirachi looked heartbroken for a moment. But… how do we find them?

Latias had no idea how to tell Jirachi the specifics of dimensional theory, mostly because it was very complicated. Then she came to a realization.

Remember Hoopa?

Jirachi puffed her cheeks once more at the thought of the genie-like Pokemon. Yes.

Latias had to giggle at the disdain Jirachi had for her fellow genie. And Palkia, Dialga, and Giratina?

The nod Jirachi gave was a happier one than her reaction to Hoopa.

Well that's how we got here. Because of something like their powers. They sent us to this dimension.

…So why don't we ask them to come here?

Latias was about to tell her, gently, that such a thing was impossible. Until she stopped and thought about that.

I… The two adorable telepaths stared at each other, suddenly thinking very seriously about something.

 **PYJ**

"HOW MANY DAMN MUGGINGS ARE THERE IN THIS CITY!?"

As I yelled this out, I smashed my stun baton against a skinny white guys chin, sending the volts through his body.

I was standing in an alley surrounded by what seemed to be three junkies. They were sweaty, smelly, and really weak, if still dangerous due to the knives they had.

In other words, good practice for a new hero.

Behind me, Wildcat was simply watching. Behind _him_ was a young woman in a business suit, pretty blonde type.

He shrugged as I dodged around a punch from a frantic mugger. "A lot? Honestly, it only really happens when I'm around."

"I've noticed that." The blonde woman said, sounded shellshocked.

"Spandex Dilemma?" I asked. I punched another junkie in his solar plexus, knocking him out as carefully as I could.

"What is that?" Wildcat asked. He stepped into grab the arm of one of the junkies before he couldstab me in the back. "And watch yourself. Never focus on just one opponent to the exclusion of other threats."

"Thanks!" I grunted. I grabbed the last junkie and pushed him against a dumpster, before punching him into the chest until his eyes were closed and his body went limp.

Wildcat knocked out the final junkie with enough ease to make me realize how much work I had. "So? Spandex Dilemma?"

As we waited for the authorities, I began to explain the theory of superheroes summoning bad guys.

 **PYJ**

The Teen of Steel was sitting at the island table of the caves kitchen. Superboy looked down at the paper in his hand. After a moment, he looked up at M'gann. "What… is this?"

She continued to hum as she moved around the kitchen, a pleasant smile on her face as she cooked. Chansey passed by her, humming as she balanced a salad bowl full of greens on her head.

"Well…" M'gann looked over at Superboy. "Red said we needed a name. So we came up with ideas! What do you think?"

Superboy cocked his head. M'gann had to resist the urge to squeal at how cute he looked. "Aren't we undercover? Why do we need a name?"

"Oh, I thought of that!" She dropped the bowl she was stirring cake mix in, leaving it to continue stirring with her powers. She leaned over and pointed at one of the suggested names. "Look!"

"…Nobody?" He blinked, confused. "We'd be Nobody? Why?"

"Cause it will be cool!" M'gann answered cheerfully. "People would be like, 'Who did this?' And we'd tell them, 'Nobody did.' Red said it was awesome."

Superboy felt a strange feeling in his chest. "So… you spent a lot of time with him?"

M'gann, not noticing how carefully casual the boy sounded, simply nodded. Chansey on the other hand slowed down, keeping an eye on the proceedings.

"Yeah. Red asked me to help him with a few things. He was nice." M'gann walked away to grab some more ingredients.

"…Nice." Superboy once again had no idea why the thought made his chest feel weird. He noticed Chansey turning to look at him. He glared at her. "What?"

Chansey shook her head, unimpressed with his anger. "Chansey."

Saying nothing else, she walked away at a relaxed pace, leaving Superboy in confusion.

"Did… she say something nice or something mean?"

The Teen of Steel had no answers.

 **PYJ**

"So that's when Diana punched Hitler in the face." Wildcat shrugged. "To be honest, I don't know why that guys expected anything less. Diana always could smell crazy a mile away."

He stopped his story with a sweet right hook. The man we'd been fighting, apparently some jewel theif type in a waaaaay too tight tuxedo, fell down.

"Okay, was that a supervillain?" I scratched my head as I looked down at the now beaten man.

"Nah. Everytime a thug gets a little good at their job they end up thinking they'll be the next big thing. See." Wildcat leaned over and showed me a tag on the man's tux. "He got this from a costume shop. Didn't even remove the tag."

"This city is weird." I pulled my hood down, wiping at the sweat on the back of my neck. "So now what?"

"Home." He chuckled. "I usually do my patrols at night. A morning thing is new to me. Still, we did good work, and you got some practice in. Go home, get some food in ya."

I smiled just a bit. I tossed aside the napkin I'd used to wipe sweat off my neck, and followed Wildcat from the jewel store.

 **PYJ**

A few minutes after Wildcat and Trainer Red left the jewel store, someone entered. They walked towards the napkin Trainer Red had used on his neck, and lifted it up. It was the work of seconds to put the sweat soaked fabric into plastic bag.

The figure looked over the fabric briefly, before a feminine voice sounded out.

"Perfect."


	14. Between Failures

It had been about a month since I'd first joined the team. Maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less. In that time, I'd done a lot of work.

New York City had become a second home to me in a lot of ways. I spent a hell of a lot of time there either training in Ted's gym or patrolling the streets with him. I suppose I could have done the patrols on my own, with my Pokemon. But honestly, spending time with my mentor was great. He had a ton of great stories, he was funny as hell, and the pair of us being a kickass team was great feeling.

 **PYJ**

 ** _July 25th, 2010_**

"So I leaped down on the table, feeling impressive as hell. And I look at this mob boss and his cronies, all terrified at the sight of me. They've been packing their money, clearly running scared after my hours of investigatin'. I'm feeling smug, about to kick them to the curb."

Ted shook his head sadly. "Then I notice the green glow behind me."

Wildcat sat down next to me on the edge of an apartment roof overlooking the city. "Turned out that Green Lantern was on the same trail. So when I turn, there's Alan, looking like a frikkin avengin angel and surprised to see me."

He sighed. "In the end, they didn't even know I was chasing them down! Can you believe it!? A solid week, and they were more worried about Alan! Alan is the nicest guy in the world for cryin out loud!"

I laughed, trying not to sound to humored by the thought. Still, Wildcat gave me an annoyed, but still joking, glare.

"Yeah yeah. Come on kid. City won't save itself."

I sighed, but nodded. Then I clapped my hands. "Come on guys! Time to go!"

From the skies, two things appeared. One, a bird of electricity. The other, a red jetlike bird.

They coasted down to meet us. I smiled, and went for Latias.

And then Zapdos carefully maneuvered in my way.

"What the-? Zapdos! We talked about this!" I looked up at the bird, crossing my arms as annoyance filled me.

Zapdos carefully didn't look at me. Noticeably, Zapdos also didn't move out of the way.

I moved to go to the right of it. Yellow and black feathers got in my way. Left got me an orange beak.

"I have flown with you like seven times already!" I rubbed my head and sighed, trying not to get mad. "Why do you even want me to ride you? You said you don't like me."

Wildcat and Latias had identical smiles on their faces as Zapdos once more ignored me, while pointedly staying in my way.

I finally growled, throwing my hands in the air. "Tsundere freaking… Fine!"

I turned to Latias. "Latias, can you-?"

I stopped when I noted Wildcat climbing on top of her, both chuckling and clearly having a mental conversation making fun of me.

Well. Fair is fair. I'd laughed at him.

Soon enough, the pair of us were flying over the skies of New York on the backs of Pokemon.

 **PYJ**

It made me sad in some ways. In the comics, Batman and Robin eventually split because of their differences. If their relationship was so much closer than Ted and mine, then how much would that split have hurt?

It made me resolve to make sure that never happened in this universe, and that Ted would always have me there to back him up if he needed a guy with a meta-animal army at his back.

That was the fun part actually. Running through New York with a veteran hero was awesome. Doing it with my Pokemon made it better.

For one thing, in a city that hadn't had meta-combat in earnest in years, they were kinda OP.

 **PYJ**

 ** _July 27th_**

As the fire, the third in a week in the same neighborhood, raged, a small child shivered in her closet. She'd rushed in there when she smelled the smoke, terrified by the screams that had sounded through the apartment. She was nine, and terrified, her arms wrapped around her knees and her head in her arms.

Then, the stifling heat around her disappeared. She looked up, confused.

The closet door opened. Outside was a tall man, wearing a black bodysuit. She almost giggled at his mask, with a face like a teddy bears. He looked down at her and smiled.

"Hey sweetheart… you okay?"

He leaned down and took the scared girl gently into his arms. She looked over his shoulder as he picked her up to see a massive four legged red animal with a mask.

"Ah!" She squeaked.

The animal looked up at her, then barked softly. It then ran off. As it did, the fires in the hall flew towards it, absorbed into the animals body.

"That is freaky to watch." The man growled. "Come on. Let's find your parents."

And as they left, rain began to fall against the rooftop.

 **PYJ**

Heatran and Slowbro were damn good when it came to fire rescue. She swam through flames like it was nothing, and simply absorbed them into her body like those rocks she loved so much. Slowbro was able to use his water to create rain in the skies before taking the fire out with careful bursts, allowing me and Wildcat to work with ease.

Chesnaught ended up being my enforcer, a role he relished.

 **PYJ**

 ** _July 31st_**

Mob boss Paul Vitti had seen a lot in his life. Enough that he was one of the oldest mob bosses in New York, a title that was testament to his survival instincts.

He'd seen men wreathed in green flame turn buildings to ash, had hired hitmen who could control shadows, and believed in the magic held within a helmet of gold.

But as he stood in a warehouse full of fellow made men, and watched a wall shatter inwards, he found himself once more surprised.

But then, who in their right mind could expect a giant bear with a fitted red SWAT vest to break down a wall.

The massive bear seemed to be smiling. It opened its mouth.

"Oh yeaaaaah!"

For one ridiculous moment, Paul was convinced that the bear had said that. Then he saw a man in a red hooded jacket step around the animal, his eyes shaded by a baseball cap.

"Sorry," The man patted the bear on the shoulder, a wide grin on his face. "I always wanted to do that."

"Drop him!" Vitti was surprised to realize he was the one who'd yelled. At his order, the thirty plus men reached for weapons.

"Roar." The man in the hood said simply.

The bear's mouth opened. **"▄▅▄▅▂▂▃▃▄▄▅** **!"**

The sound that came from the animal was indescribable. The windows shook under the force of that noise. It was too loud, too deep, too forceful. The sound practically struck you all on its own.

The group of mobsters stood in fear.

That's when a flood of water burst into the room, followed by the familiar (To Vitti) form of Wildcat leaping down from the ceiling to smash his fists into two men as the rest were blown back by a wave of water.

Vitti had enough time before the water hit him to see its source. A big pink… thing sending the torrent outwards. With a grey shell on its tail that had eyes.

As the Wildcat, the man in the hood, and the bear began to treat his men like bongo drums, Vitti simply curled up into a ball and tried not to have a panic attack.

 **PYJ**

Going 'Kool-Aid Man' became my new favorite tactic, as very few people could see a bear break down a wall and not want to give up.

The first time we did it, Chesnaught couldn't stop laughing throughout the fight, which really just made me, Wildcat, and Slowbro laugh too.

The police were just as amused when we left the mafia or mob guys (could never tell the difference) handcuffed with the greatest wedgies in history (Chesnaught's idea of course).

Jirachi and Chansey were my recovery experts.

 **PYJ**

 ** _August 1st_**

The nine year old girl had been staring at the shell of her former home since she'd been saved by Wildcat. The big burly man had given her a kind smile and a pat on the head.

But he had no time for anything else. The superhero had rushed back into the apartment. People stream out, some with severe burns, others unharmed but clearly horrified by the burning down of their home.

As the nine year old girl watched, she could see the hopelessness, the fear in the faces of those people. And felt her own despair deepen, in the way that all children feel despair, as a deep ocean with no walls to hold it back.

What happiness could exist in a world where everything you knew could change in an afternoon?

One day she would learn of course. That happiness and sadness are necessary. That the loses of today can make the wins of tomorrow that much more meaningful.

But today, she was on the brink of tears.

Hi!

And then a voice came into her head. The nine year old girl turned around. And her eyes widened.

Jirachi smiled as she floated before the girl, flying over to her. I'm Jirachi! Who are you?

The girl tried to speak even as her hands flexed at the sheer to desire to hug the **cute**.

"I-I'm Krissy."

The little doll-like being smiled a bit wider. Then Jirachi's smile turned sad.

You okay?

Krissy's earlier despair returned. "…No." She stubbornly wiped at her eyes. "My room. It had my video games… daddy got me them."

Jirachi's face turned contemplative. After a while, she nodded.

Um, you shouldn't be sad! Jirachi seemed to think a bit harder. No, you can be sad! But, only as long as you want! But you should also try to feel better! Because you lost the video games, but now you can get new and better ones! Life is like that.

Jirachi waved her arms outward. This world is so, so big! And it has all the mountains and the rivers and cakes. So, yes, this was not good. She nodded firmly, as though she had dropped a serious truth. But… there are still lotsa good things Krissy! And even if those good things leave, you still remember them, right? So they never really leave, they just become a part of you.

Jirachi floated closer and tapped the girls head. This time her 'voice' sounded high and reedy, like she was mimicking someone. Luminous beings are we! Not this crude matter!

She stopped and cocked her head. I don't think I said it right.

Krissy giggled. She didn't really understand what Jirachi was saying, and suspected even Jirachi didn't understand.

But simply by being there, and trying, Krissy felt much better.

Suddenly, a green light surrounded Krissy. The girl gasped as she felt her pained lungs feel better, her scrapped knees pain disappear.

Krissy turned to see a pink blob, as cute as Jirachi in a diferent way, smiling at her.

"Chansey." The pink blob said. Then she patted the stunned girls head and waddled away to heal a young couple next, who simply stared at the pink being in shock even as their burns knit themselves.

"Woooow." Krissy said quietly.

 **PYJ**

They could kick a lot of ass of course, and Chansey was disturbingly ready to turn New York's underworld terrified of the color pink. But they were most useful when it came to treatment. Kids loved Jirachi. I can't tell how many times I found her playing with them, smiling giddily as they danced or simply smiled together even after whatever tragedy struck their lives.

And Chansey's tough love nature made her a hit with the parents. She had a knack for talking down people who were losing their minds with grief, and she was always there with a healing hand or soft 'Chans'. I have no idea how she knew which was needed over the other.

Latias, like Jirachi and Chansey, was also great at healing people. But where she shined was in carrying us around the city. With her, we could cover three times as much ground as usual, and had the benefit of air support if needed. Anyone who thought we were easy prey quickly found themselves sniped by the eldritch energy of a Dragon Pulse attack.

If anyone surprised me though, it was Zapdos. It had turned out… well…

Zapdos is a tsundere.

God help me.

Still, I don't care who you are. The sight of your buddy getting blasted by electricity and purple energy followed by Wildcat and a guy in a red hood leaping into your midst to start kicking ass, while a _freaking bear_ smashes through a wall in a red vest followed by a lava monster, a pink cat and blob, and a floating cute doll thing cheering happily while it slams into you?

That's enough to turn most men into jelly, if only for sheer ridiculousness.

Of course, patrolling New York alongside the famous Wildcat had its side effects.

It wasn't too long before reports of a man in a red hood and beard with strange creatures at his command following Wildcat began to flood the net. After that came the Paparazzi.

How cool is that man? I was a minor celebrity!

Very minor. Exactly one newspaper had asked for photos of me, at a price even Peter Parker would have turned down. Turns out gangsters, junkies, and such aren't inclined to share that animals that look like Latias, Jirachi, and Chansey kicked their asses.

Still, I'm famous.

 **PYJ**

Of course, I'd also spent time with the Team. Mostly M'gann and Superboy, as the other three were usually off doing their own thing, having their own mentors and schooling to follow.

The day after my first patrol, M'gann was waiting for me in the cave.

 **PYJ**

 ** _July 25_**

I entered the cave at a slow pace, my body aching. The gauntlet of running, punching, getting punched, lifting, and jumping had turned my muscles to mush.

Forget the military. Superheroics is the real workout.

Even with the pain though, I entered the cave feeling pretty good about my life.

That ended when M'gann walked up to me, looking cute as button as always. She seemed nervous, clutching at her shirt between her hands.

"Hey Red?" Huh, she'd started calling me that quick. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure." I was curious as to why she was asking, but this was M'gann. She was by far the sweetest person I'd ever met. I can't help but want to do things for people that nice.

Hope that doesn't bit me in the ass later.

Regardless, she motioned for me to follow. A bit of walking took us to the empty dining room, where she had a notebook set up.

"I um, showed Superboy some of the names we came up with for the team!" She lifted the notebook. I couldn't help the small smile I sprouted when I noted the sighing lilt when she said Superboy's name.

Girl had it bad. Question was, should I help? What if, like in his own universe, he ended up having a thing for Cassie Sandsmark, AKA the second Wonder Girl? Sure, this Superboy was very different from that one, but I didn't want to end up derailing a relationship as strong as that for that for something that might end in less than five years.

That was the problem with having your memories tampered with. No clue what to do next.

I ignored the questions of playing interdimensional Cupid for now.

"So, what did our tall, brooding, and handsome young Kryptonian think?"

The young girl pouted. "He didn't like some of them. All the ones you picked actually."

"What!?" I couldn't help the wounded feeling that knowledge brought. "What's wrong with mine?"

"He um… said they didn't make sense. Like this one." She opened the notebook to it's first page. "Team Rocket." She gave me an adorably confused look. "Why would we call ourselves that?"

I winced. "Okay, in my defense, that's kind of an in-joke from my world." I rubbed my neck. "Sorry. Sometimes it's weird getting used to the different things culturally. Watching TV and reading books about it doesn't help as much I'd thought."

M'gann's confusion became something between surprise and empathy. "O-Oh. I forgot. T-That you're from another world I mean."

I grinned. "Yeah. I guess I have the advantage of my world being just like this one. Just no Pokemon." Technically true. The franchise didn't exist in this universe after all.

"It gets lonely sometimes though." I rubbed my neck. "Don't get me wrong. My Pokemon are here for me. And they have my back. But having someone of my own species, one of my brothers or my sister, to share this with would be nice."

"…I feel the same way sometimes." M'gann pulled her hands back into her lap. She was smiling. But it was a sad kind of smile. "I learned a lot about Earth from Mars by watching TV from the planet. And when I got here, I thought it would be the same way."

She lifted a hand up to rest her face against it. "People are so _different_ from what I expected. Some of them are really mean too. Like Bane, and Kobra."

"Yeah well," I leaned over to ruffle her hair, getting an adorable pout as I did. "Don't forget that for every ten bad guys, there's one good guy willing to kick butt."

"Those aren't the best odds." She reminded me with a wry smile.

"Nah, they're perfect." I chuckled. "Maybe if they had another five or so, things would get close to even."

I stopped chuckling pretty quickly. As much of an idiot as I can be, I could tell M'gann was hurting in a lot of ways. I racked my brain for some way to make her feel better.

Finally, I gave up. I'm not good at speeches. I might as well say how I feel.

"People are screwed up everywhere." M'gann looked up at me. "Seriously. Everywhere in the galaxy, there's some jerk trying to take power, or kill others, simply because they feel it's their right. On my world, a lot of people hated on guys like me because of things like the color of our skin, our political and cultural differences."

I rubbed my neck. "But it's like I said. There's always the good people. And while superheroes are kinda outnumbered by supervillains, there are hell of a lot more people living good, normal lives. They're the ones who create the world you and I like. The good people who see the world for what it could be, what it is."

"We fight for that hope M'gann." I rubbed the back of my neck a bit self-consciously. "I'm kind of rambling. But I'm just letting you know you're not alone. And you should never let the uh, the worst things about the Earth, or the things that confuse you the way they do me, ruin all the amazing things about it. Not for someone as great as you."

She blushed and smiled happily. Even so, I knew there was still something that she needed.

I knew what she was. A White Martian. Horrific looking. In the original comics, they'd been a species of psychopaths. And M'gann had been one who tried to rise above that tradition of violence.

She was keeping it secret from me. She probably thought I would fear her, hate her.

How could I… Oh. I knew how.

"Did you know I'm a Muslim?"

She cocked her head. "No. Isn't that a religion here on Earth?"

"Islam is the religion," I corrected with the ease of practice. "Muslim is a practitioner, like a Christian."

I waved my hand. "But that's not the point. See, on my world, and this one too, Muslims like me, especially ones with my skin color, are seen as monsters by those who don't know better."

Damn. It hurt everytime. Talking about the whole thing. But I pushed on.

"My people… some of us come from what you would call 'bad neighborhoods'. Not all of us, or even most of us. But some. And they end up in a bad way. A lot of it is political, cultural, and going to deep into it requires a huge discussion on the various groups, sects, and nuances of my worlds history. But some of us use Islam as a justifier for acting on their fears."

I sighed, and ran a hand across my face. "Because of these people, the whole of my religion and it's followers have been vilified. Most of us, like I said, just want to live in peace. I'm a normal dude. I want to write stories, hang with friends, get superexcited for nerd things, and now, hang with my Pokemon and fight bad guys."

I ignored the fact that neither of the last two were normal by any means.

"And despite that, to some people… I'm a monster."

I looked into M'gann's eyes. I tried my best to convey the truth of what I was saying to her. "So… I know a thing or two about being treated like something horrific because of my appearance and background. So I can understand why others would feel the need to hide it."

M'gann stared at me. She seemed resigned, and a bit scared. Finally she looked down at her hands.

"Who… Did Uncle J'onn tell you?" Her voice was so quiet. Small. It broke my heart.

"No." I scratched my chin, feeling the bristle of my beard. "But I know. And I don't care." I smiled, trying to ease her fears. "I know what you are M'gann. And you're the sweetest person I've ever met. You're appearance doesn't change that. Green, white, mauve, or turquoise. You're my friend. And I'll always have your back."

I grinned. "Besides. It would be hypocritical of me to love my Pokemon as much as I do and just treat you badly."

She smiled at that.

Then, she looked around. For a moment, I felt her thoughts brush mine. In that moment I tried to push as much of my own feelings towards her as I could. It probably didn't work. I'm not psychic after all.

But it seemed to be enough. The world shifted. And then I was in another room. Her room. Things felt muted, and yet much clearer at the same time. Objects were hazy, but some of them seemed to radiate emotions.

The bed 'felt' like sleep. Two photos on the right dresser, one of J'onn J'onzz in his full Martian form, the other of a huge amount of other Martians, radiated with love and happiness. Her family.

One thing that was kind of funny was the shirtless poster of Superboy on the wall. As I cocked an eyebrow at it, I heard a squeak.

M'gann sped past me to grab the poster and quickly tear it up. As it disappeared into motes, she turned and chuckled nervously. "Heheh! How did that get there?"

I smiled knowingly, to which she nervously coughed. "So um… this is my mind."

Whoa. "That's… heavy." I looked around again, feeling a bit awed. Being in the mind of telepath, 'truly' in their mind, is a privilege. I didn't know that fully. But I had some suspicions.

I'd read enough Jean Grey stories to know that.

"Who is that?" M'gann looked over my shoulder.

When I turned, a tall, incredibly hot, and almost sad redhead with green eyes was there. She gave us a smile, then disappeared.

"What the hell!?" I stepped back, shocked. Jean Grey? In here?

"It's all right." M'gann patted my shoulder. "We're in our own minds, remember? Things like that happen a lot."

I tried to keep calm. I turned to M'gann, only to feel a rope binding my wrist. Looking down revealed that I was not in m normal costume. Instead I was in a lighter red version, with no body armor, and the jacket ended at my hips instead of my knees. Around my body winded a golden rope. It took me a moment to realize what was going on.

I was wearing Red's costume. The original Red. And wrapped around me, was the Lasso of Truth.

Psychologists would love this.

I looked at M'gann. She seemed, on some level, to realize the significance of what my appearance meant. She smiled sadly, but soldiered on.

"I… I figured if you knew about it… it might be safe to show you. But I wanted to do it here, so no one else could see."

Not a word came from me. I didn't want to scare her.

She took a breath. Slowly, green skin changed color. Red hair shifted inwards. Limbs grew and thinned, while her torso and head widened.

Soon, she stood before me in her true Martian form. Taller than me. With more teeth than a T-Rex. Or a Tyrantrum.

Until then, I had no idea how much being around my Pokemon had shifted my perspective. Looking at M'gann, I should have been terrified, even knowing who she was. At least, I should have been disgusted.

But my Pokemon were also pretty scary. Well, not Jirachi. But Heatran looked horrific to people. With her massive metal mask that had jaws of blunt unforgiving metal. Her bright eyes, boiling with fire.

Unless you knew her like me. Say her shudder in fear at meeting new people as she hid behind me. The way she burbled with joy when I kissed her mask and called her a sweetheart. Her barks as she swam in the earth, joyously becoming one with molten core.

I loved Heatran. My adorable baby. Because I knew her. I could see her emotions in every movement, every blink.

And looking at M'gann, I saw something similar. The form had changed. But the way she shuffled nervously, the way she grabbed her left arm at the elbow with her right hand. It was sweet M;gann under there.

"I am so disappointed in you." I finally said, putting on my best angry face.

She winced, and fear emanated from her.

"You have a crush on Superboy and you never told me?" I grinned. "And a shirtless photo? Now M'gann, you bad girl."

Eep! Her hands came up to her face. D-Don't tell him!

"I think I should." I lifted a hand to his beard. "Maybe he'll simply listen to me, nod, and sweep you off your feet for a kiss. Like in the movies."

If you've never seen a White Martian blush, you should. Its hilariously cute.

Nooo!


	15. Klone Problems

M'gann and I became pretty close after that. Not quite friends yet, but the fact I knew her secret, and understood it, made it easier for us to confide in each other.

In short, I full well planned to see her and Superboy become an item.

We also spent a lot of time with Jirachi and Latias. The game was that the three of them would push against each other's minds to see if they could become better at holding out bad influences. I was the one who suggested it, since any superhero nerd worth his salt know that the bad guys tend to love the whole 'mind attack' thing.

I spent most of my time with them just hanging out and waiting for my turn. By which I mean three youthful beings that were all actually older than me all attacked my mind as gently as possible while I tried to block them out.

It was mostly an idle experiment. But an interesting one. I'd have to ask Batman and J'onn later for advice on meditation.

That did not however, keep me from spending time with my other roommate.

 **PYJ**

 ** _July 31st_**

"Talk to her." I said.

"No." Superboy replied.

"Damn it." I said with a sigh.

That brief exchange had been one of my attempts to talk to Superboy. Since I'd lived in the cave, the Half-Kryptonian had been avoiding M'gann, me, and most of my Pokemon. All but Chesnaught, who apparently Superboy had mad respect for, and Jirachi, who no one could feel anything but affection for.

My attempt was taking place in the Pokemon Gym, the massive area Heatran had created. The aforementioned constructor was off with Jirachi, the two Steel-types apparently bonding elsewhere. So it was just me and Superboy in the Gym.

"Why not?" I asked him. "We all live together. We should hang out, get to be friends. I really think she'd like hanging out with you."

My attempt was built on a simple concept. If the two of them were to build any relationship, it would have to be built on true feelings. They were both kids though. Superboy, being a clone, barely had any concept of what romance and all the things that came with it was. M'gann, I suspected, had gotten all of her relationship advice from TV, which wasn't a bad thing, just not as useful as one would hope.

So I, being at that age where I was young enough to remember teenage romance, yet old enough to have had enough relationships to have learned a few things, had taken it as something of a personal challenge to see the two get together.

However, one thing got in my way.

And that is that Superboy did not like, or respect me.

I had my suspicions why. And it wasn't that he was jealous of me and M'gann hanging out. I was sure he knew, intellectually, that the two of us were friends. No, the problem was that I wasn't the kind of person Superboy seemed to like.

Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Miss Martian, were all warriors in some way. Fighters, capable of holding their own.

I on the other hand, was not.

I was working on it of course. My six hours of working out with Ted in the morning, and three hours of patrolling at night may have cause chaos to my schedule, but I was already feeling the progress. Sweet, but oh so slow, progress.

But that probably didn't matter to Superboy. To him, I was some guy who was on the team because he had Pokemon who listened to him. That's it.

I could understand that feeling. And I could tell Superboy liked my Pokemon well enough, especially since he and Chesnaught spent some time… brooding I guess? I honestly had no idea what they did together, but they did spend time hanging out.

Still, I had to try right?

"So what are you doing here anyways?" I looked around the area. It was still pretty desolate. The entrance to the Pokemon Gym now had a sheltered building in front of it, where some furniture had been put in and some holes that acted as windows looked outwards. The rest of it looked like a metal and stone valley. Superboy was resting on top of a metal pillar which overlooked the small farm Heatran had shaped. I dug out some holes in it and put some berries in this morning, which had already grown some green leaves thanks to Chesnaught coaxing them to grow.

"I'm thinking. Go away."

Damn. The kid _really_ didn't like me.

"What're you thinking about?" I asked as I rested against the pillar. I listened to the growl I got in response, gulped, and continued. "You should talk about it with people. Maybe they'll think it's a good idea?"

"I don't _care_ what other people think."

There was a silent moment. The Gym was big enough that a wind could blow through it, something to do with the heat of the mountain above shifting the air.

"Bullshit."

My response was enough to surprise Superboy. He looked down at me from his perch.

"What did you say?" He asked, incredulous. And probably angry.

"Bullshit." I couldn't help my own anger. Getting looked down on by a guy both younger and stronger than you is annoying. "You do care. In fact, I bet you worry about it constantly."

He hopped down to glare at me. "Go. Away."

This close, it was painfully obvious how much taller and bigger than me he was. I pushed down that thought to focus.

"If you don't care, then why do you wear it?" I tapped the 'S' on his chest, trying not to wince at his animalistic snarl. "You care Superboy. As much as you don't want to admit it, I bet it's the one thought that is always at the back of your mind. What would Superman think?"

The next word out of my mouth was 'Damn!' Because Superboy, in a roar of anger, lashed out at the pillar he'd been sitting on.

I leaped back as his fist shattered the metal and stone with ease, turning a five foot pillar into twisted rubble.

The sound of Superboy deep gasps for agitated air filled the area briefly as I stared at him. He didn't look back, plainly trying to calm down.

"…When Superman was young, his only powers were super-strength and invulnerability."

Superboy froze. Then he looked up at me, shocked. "What?"

I smiled shakily. "Superman. When he was a kid, he was almost exactly as strong as you are now."

"H-How could you know that?"

Good question. "I'm a Pokemon Trainer. It's my job to know this stuff."

I rubbed the back of my neck. "You aren't weak Superboy. You haven't had as much of the sun's rays as him. In fact, the constant battling you're going to undertake at this age, the teaching you'll be getting from the League, and the support of your friends… You could actually end up stronger than Superman. With help."

As long as we could deal with that pesky eternal youth thing.

Superboy seemed to consider what I was saying. Then he scoffed. "I'm a living weapon. I don't need help."

The urge to scream in frustration was strong. I held it down, thinking furiously.

"Every weapon needs sharpening. It needs to be fine tuned, and improved, if it's going to work at top profieciency. As you are now, could you take on say, Wonder Woman? Captain Atom? Or even an unpowered hero like Batman or Green Arrow?"

He opened his mouth. Then closed it. Oh thank god, he was considering my words.

"Maybe Green Arrow." Okay, so he was still arguing. But he mumbled that at least, which encouraged me.

"Having help doesn't make you weak man." I held back the urge to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "My Pokemon and me… we would be really weak without each other. I help them learn, and grow, and become as powerful as they can be. Without training, Chesnaught never would have evolved into what he is today. Literally. Batman would never have gotten as strong as he is without trainers. Wonder Woman is in the same boat."

"But not Superman." Superboy said.

"Superman spends every day of his life depending on people." I nodded ephatecially at the look I got from Superboy. "It's true. Superman is a good guy. But he wasn't born from the womb with all his powers. He had to learn how they worked, had to control them. He's been training, in his own way, as hard as any member of the Justice League for decades."

"…If that's true. If I'm not weak... Why won't he talk to me?"

The look in his eyes was heartbreaking. There it was. Superboy needed a mentor, someone who could understand and accept him. But the one man who really could had avoided him since the day they'd met.

"I don't know." I looked down at the ground. "He's probably scared."

"He's _Superman._ " Superboy spat in disapproval. "What is he scared of?"

"Of what you might mean." I shrugged. "I'm just guessing. But clones are hard to figure out in a world unused to them. Are you his cousin? Brother? Son? How should he treat you? Should he tell others he knows about you? Should you live with him? How many secrets of his life should he share with you? Not to mention you were cloned expressly to kill him. He knows how much power he has. What if you attack his family and friends to get to him?"

"I wouldn't do that!" He protested.

"And how does he know that?" I countered. "If he really is scared, than you just need to show him what the rest of us have found out."

I stepped forward to look him in the eye. "You're a good guy. Sure, a bit brooding, and you can really get on my nerves-"

"Look who's talking." He smirked at the look on my face.

"Right. Okay, so we both have issues with each other sometimes." I shrugged. "But I still know you're a good guy. Give Superman time. In the meantime, just do your own thing. Keep fighting the good fight. Hang with friends. Eat, live, and enjoy a life outside a pod."

I rubbed the back of my neck again. "This is just advice. But I really think that's the best way to handle it. Time, man. You just need time."

Superboy looked up at the ceiling. He was thoughtful, I think. Contemplative. Finally, he sighed.

"You said… M'gann wants to talk to me?"

I held in my excitement. Obviously one talk hadn't changed his world view. I had no doubt that the high emotions simply made him more susceptible to my talk, and he might later revert to old habits. Still, progress is progress, right?

Even so, I didn't end it there. I called to make a meeting for the next day.

 **PYJ**

 ** _August 1st_**

"Thanks for coming." I told Aqualad as he entered the cave. We turned and started walking immediately.

"Of course." The dark skinned Atlantean gave me a smile as we walked. "Is Batman here?"

"Probably." I told him with a shrug. "It's Batman. He probably already knows you're here."

Aqualad chuckled as he followed me. "True enough."

When we entered the weird waterfall room the Team used as a meditation area, Batman was already there, his back facing us.

"For your information. I didn't know he was here until I heard two pairs of footsteps."

I blinked at that statement and shared a look with Aqualad.

"How did you know what Red-" The Atlantean began.

"He's predictable sometimes." Batman turned to give us a stone eyed gaze. "Something he'll have to work on as a team leader."

I winced. "I'll uh, think on that."

He nodded. "You had concerns about Superboy."

Cutting to the chase. Good enough. Me and Aqualad fully entered the room, shutting it behind us. As I did, I reached for my belt and unhooked one of my Pokeballs. In a flash, Chesnaught appeared.

Batman quirked an eye at Chesnaught, who filled the room, then at me.

"He's my second in command, and the person on my team who is closest to Superboy." I explained.

"Won't you need a translation from Jirachi or Latias?" Aqualad asked. Even as he did, he shared a polite shake and smile with Chesnaught, who smiled back.

"Nope." I sat down, not feeling up to explaining the subtleties of Pokemon/Trainer communication. "But we all know why we're here. Superboy is not… I don't know. He needs help. Someone to talk to. He's obsessed with being worthy of Superman in some way, of getting his attention."

"Has it affected his ability to cope in battle?" Batman asked.

At that, I opened my mouth, only to have no words. True, he'd been a bit arrogant in the last mission, jumping out a ship to prove he didn't need a line. But he'd obeyed orders, fought well, and acted with discipline, more than Robin even, who had been vying for the position of leader. By that marker, his anger over Superman ignoring him was not a big deal.

Aqualad looked over at my silent form, then at Batman. "While it hasn't affected his performance, I too have noticed a… deep anger in Superboy. He has questions about his identity, and thirst to know who he is. And he feels Superman is refusing to give him those answers."

"…Superman is not a perfect person." Batman said simply. "He may be as confused as Superboy. He spends most of his time rushing around the world these days, doing as much as he can. I suspect he is avoiding this situation."

"Saving the world is easy, but raising a kid is hard?" I asked.

"Speaking as a parent. Yes." Batman told me.

"As the oldest brother of six, I may not get that one hundred percent, but I see where you're coming from." I sighed. "But he needs help. I know a lot about Kryptonians and their culture, I can probably fill in some of the more obvious blanks," Unless we got into New 52 territory, which was just weird. "But Superboy needs someone to talk to. A professional."

Aqualad rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "That may be the best thing for him. Superboy is not te best at controlling his emotions. Someone to help him channel that anger could help. We do not want him to disobey an order due to an impulsive need to prove something to Superman."

I groaned. "I feel like a jerk talking about this behind his back."

As I rubbed my face, a massive hand landed on my shoulder. I looked up to see Chesnaught.

He growled lightly, pressing his index finger to my head. Meaning I had to think.

Then he growled a bit more, repeating his name as he gestured. He pointed at his back, shook his head, growled, lifted a fist up, and smiled.

Yeah, that was a bit more complex to translate. But Chesnaught was telling me that I wasn't talking behind Superboy's back to hurt him, but to make him happy, so I shouldn't feel bad.

My heart swelled. Chesnaught is awesome. Seriously.

I patted his shoulder, sharing a smile, then looked at Aqualad and Batman. On seeing Aqualad's confusion, I translated. Aqualad accepted my explanation.

"Hmm. So I was right." Batman hummed.

That one made me blink in shock. Batman was translating my Pokemon? …Cool.

"So. Any ideas Batman?" I asked.

He spoke immediately, clearly having an answer . "Possibly. I know Black Canary has done some counseling, and I had already asked her to do some group training sessions with the team. Asking her to get a look at Superboy could be helpful."

He looked hard at me. "There is another matter. Green Lantern has disappeared."

Aqualad and I straightened, and even Chesnaught, who had come to like Hal, seemed alarmed.

"Where was he last?" Aqualad asked.

"He left along with Hawkman and Hawkwoman to give reports on Red to their superiors." Batman explained. "The Hawks have returned. Green Lantern has not reported in."

"Did you talk to Guardians?" I asked. I felt worried. Green Lantern went to Oa to tell them what I knew. And now he'd disappeared.

I tried to remember what I'd told him. Parallax. Ion. The Empire of Tears. What if the Guardians had killed Hal for what I'd told him?

The thought chilled me. Because not only would I have killed Hal, but they'd come for me next.

My Pokemon were powerful. But while they might hold their own against a single Lantern, the Guardians would probably bring dozens. Few things could stand against that many.

"We have." Batman said. "The Guardians say that due to circumstances, Green Lantern has disappeared, but that they know he is alive and safe, along with Kilowog. They don't know where he is, but they assume he is not in any more danger than a Lantern goes through on a daily basis."

"…That is not a comforting statement." Aqualad's statement got a nod from me, and something like a smirk from Batman.

"Now, I believe we have other business." Batman turned to activate a computer console on the wall. "I have Robin doing some work in Gotham. But next week we will begin classes on tactics and strategy in earnest. Until then, you should consider…"

As Batman laid out yet another lesson plan, I couldn't help but notice the level of interest Chesnaught seemed to show in the talk.

 **PYJ**

At the very least I got Superboy and M'gann talking again. Well, as much as Superboy talked anyways. Still, they did start spending time, real time together. I'd jump in every once in a while, and the three of us and my Pokemon would sometimes play board games, or watch tv and movies.

Superboy had a thing for action movies, but interestingly enough, he also loved political dramas. This worried me a bit, since that sounded very Lex Luthory to me.

M'gann loved the romance and drama type films, but I found she had a secret weakness for fantasy.

As for me, I was just glad that I could find some fiction was shared between universes. Sailor Moon for example, which me and M'gann enjoyed together.

Don't give me that look. Usagi is funny, and Hino Rei was something me and Superboy agreed on (Namely that she was pretty badass).

The Sailor Moon thing got really crazy when it turned out Martian Manhunter was also a fan of it. Weird world.

My Pokemon had lives of their own though.

 **PYJ**

 ** _July 31st, at the same time Superboy and Trainer Red talk in the Pokemon Gym_**

Slowbro left the pool he'd made his home and growled lightly in contentment. Feeling a slight crick in his back, he stretched, then growled once more at the 'pop' that followed.

The he looked upwards. In the alcove above the pool, rested Zapdos. Slowbro contemplated the bird. Then, he breathed in, and released a burst of bubbles. They floated upwards slowly towards Zapdos, who had been napping quietly.

With a series of gentle bursts, each bubble popped in front of the orange beak. Zapdos snapped its head back, looking around in confusion. When it sighted Slowbro, looking up peacefully at the bird, Zapdos' eyes narrowed.

The bird flew down and landed before Slowbro in a cloud of electricity. Slowbro stared back placidly.

Zapdos let out an electric screech. Asking what Slowbro wanted, very angrily.

Slowbro purred lightly.

Zapdos pulled its head back, the storm within its mind recoiling. A challenge. Slowbro had challenged it.

The two stared at each other. Then, Chesnaught walked into the room. He strode over, looking between them.

"Ches?" He asked, wondering what was happening.

Zapdos screeched, a roar of power.

Chesnaught double-taked, then looked at Slowbro.

Slowbro smiled. A dark, vicious smile, rather than the lazy thing he usually sported.

"Bro."

The insult made Zapdos apoctalyptic. Electricity arced off its body, spinning across the water nearby. Chesnaught winced slightly at the feel of the power running over him.

The bear clapped his hands. The two Pokemon stopped their staring contest to look at him. Chesnaught shook his head.

"Naught, Ches." No. Master and Latias would be disappointed. Fight later.

The two looked ready to go anyways. Chesnaught looked back at them.

He was a joker. A laughing, happy-go-lucky fighter. But he had been there from the start. Taken down things even more powerful than Zapdos. Chesnaught had been there to battle Life and Death themselves.

He looked at them.

Slowbro sighed sadly, then waddeled away. Zapdos gave an imperios screech, flying back to it's alcove.

Chesnaught shook his head, before looking at Slowbro thoughtfully. Finally he turned and walked away.

 **PYJ**

Chesnaught. When you build a Pokemon team, you start with one, and build the rest around them. Chesnaught, being my main fighter through X and Y, had been that Pokemon for my first competitive team. He was, in many ways, the start of a new life in Pokemon for me.

The real thing was an interesting beast. Playful. Honest. A lover of fighting. And incredibly intelligent.

I never discussed it with anyone. But among my Pokemon, something started to happen. Chesnaught listened. He learned. I could see it. He began to use computers. He studied tactics, history, and watched thousands of clips on martial arts.

I helped him.

 **PYJ**

 ** _August 1st_**

We stood in the Pokemon Gym. Chesnaught lashed out at Jirachi. The doll-like Pokemon floated past him, only to yelp when Chesnaught dived into the earth. He popped up underneath her, and she winced as she was sent flying into a pillar.

"Damn." I whispered. The whole thing had been seconds. Chesnaught had dug through the ground, and appeared beneath Jirachi, at blistering speeds, almost like the earth had been water.

"You okay Jirachi!?" I yelled over to her from my spot watching.

Yep! She called back. You got really strong Chesnaught!

He growled in pleasure.

Jirachi smirked. Buuuuuut…

Chesnaught barked in shock when he suddenly lifted up and thrown back. As he slammed into a pillar, Jirachi laughed.

You still can't beat me!

He chuckled good-naturedly. I shook my head at the two.

It had been that way for days. Chesnaught practicing and fighting much as I did. On his own, with me there, with my other Pokemon. Ted even told me he'd caught the big Pokemon shadow boxing.

All my Pokemon had their passions. Latias loved flying, Jirachi liked having fun and fighting, Chansey was our mom, Slowbro liked sleeping, Heatran loved making things with her powers, and Zapdos liked looking down on mortals.

Chesnaught, like me, seemed to be on a 'bettering yourself' kick.

As he blocked another telepathic attack from Jirachi with his Spiky Shield, I felt a real connection with him. We were both on the same path.

 **PYJ**

So the week went. Training, fighting, planning, and hanging out. I got into a routine. The only thing I didn't get to do was visit Wonder Woman again, which I had been hopeful for. She had promised me some books from the Themysciran Library after all.

Yes, I know full well I'm a nerd.

So it was, on August 3rd, at around 10 o'clock, I got a message on my laptop as I was writing up some proposals on new equipment for my Pokemon.

I would usually be in New York with Ted at this time, but we were getting our first team training that day, and so I was sitting on the couch in front of the TV to wait. Superboy was out on patrol in Metropolis apparently, most of my Pokemon were doing their own thing, M'gann was reading a book, Chesnaught was looking over my shoulder to read my proposal and Jirachi was watching an episode of Sailor Moon.

I kept getting distracted from my writing by the antics of Jirachi. Like me, she'd turned out to be a fan of the magical warriors. She kept letting out bursts of light as she floated there, cheering lightly along with the heroes actions, and puffing her cheeks cutely in anger when the villains showed up.

You don't think she'll end up with some weird expectations of her job now? I asked M'gann through the link she'd set up.

Mental practice. I had to write the proposal and 'talk' at the same time, stretching my ability to process information by thought-speak.

She'll be fine. M'gann smiled lightly as she read her book. Chesnaught wants you.

A third presence came into our link. Chesnaught always felt like a weird combination of relaxed and focused. Like he was resting, but also ready to leap into battle. As with all my Pokemon, except Jirachi and Latias, his 'words' were all emotions.

Curiosity. Acknowledgement. A pushing sensation. He was telling me to pay attention to something new.

I looked at my laptop to see an icon indicating someone was asking to video cam with me. Considering I didn't know anyone on this Earth that wasn't a hero, and that the laptop was attached to the Cave's network…

When I answered it, Batman appeared on my computer. He was stern as always. I could hear the sounds of combat in the background, a tree behind him erupting into flame as Superman flew by.

"Amazo. Talk."

I focused past my wonder at the fact my first look at Superman was in a video message.

"Have you fought him before?" As I asked, Jirachi shut off the TV to fly over curiously, and M'gann put her book down to come and watch as well.

"No."

"And is he using more than one superheroes powers at once?" I asked, ignoring the shocked look M'gann gave me.

"No."

"Okay," I probably should have had more questions, but I felt like I could guess what was happening. This world was, in many ways, young. Which meant certain events were still to come. So Batman was apparently using me as his own personal cheat code.

"Amazo was created by Ivo. He can copy any powers. But that's the only thing that's constant. Depending on his abilities, he could get the weaknesses of his opponents as well, so Kryptonite is worth a shot. But I suggest just making him slip up. He isn't a great tactician, definitely not on Red Tornados level. So keep any other Leaguers away so he doesn't get their powers, and trick him into using the wrong powers at the wrong moment."

"Batman out." I would have been annoyed at the sudden goodbye if it wasn't for the sight of the Martian Manhunter suddenly slamming into the ground behind Batman. I winced as M'gann gasped, only to sigh in relief as J'onn flipped up and charged back in grimly.

"I hope they'll be okay." M'gann said worriedly. Obviously that last image of her uncle getting smacked made her concerned.

"Of course they will be." I said, trying to reassure her. "Amazo is tough, but he's never been good on follow through. He's supposed to be this ultimate weapon, the one who can copy the greatest on Earth." I dumped my laptop aside onto the couch. "But what's all that power without the innovation or will behind it? Look at Red Tornado! He has one power, and he kicks ass with it."

"You've thought a lot about this." M'gann said wryly. "…How do you know who Amazo is?"

So he's like Tornado? Jirachi asked, landing on the table in front of me. Like me and Heatran?

"Uh, not exactly." I said, relieved I would be able to put off explaning my inter-dimensional knowledge for a bit longer, and put my focus on explaining what a robot was to Jirachi.

 **PYJ**

A few hours after Batman's message, I was in full costume, my Pokemon stored away on my hip and Miss Martian in her own uniform next to me. We were waiting in front of the Zeta-Tubes. As we watched, they activated with that yellow light, and a form appeared.

Kid Flash rushed in almost before he had fully formed, leaving two others in his dust.

"Hey Red, Beautiful!" He stopped before us, smirking as always, wearing his yellow costume. "How have my favorite cave dwellers been?"

"Wondering how to kill a robot." I answered. The thing with Batman had been on my mind.

Instead of being taken aback by the randomness, Kid Flash considered that. "Well, it depends on it's engineering. Can we hack it? What kind of command line does it follow? And the materials it's made of, can they be compromised by the right chemical reaction? What about it's programming, I mean, how advanced is it? You've got to give me more to work with."

"…"

He pouted at the stunned looks we both gave him. "What?"

"I think they weren't expecting so much smart to come out of you."

The joking tone made me yelp, and I nearly dropped my laptop. Robin came into view, a cheeky grin on his face.

"Hey, calm down Red. Guy your age, you might get a heart attack."

"I'm sorry?" I rose up and looked down at him. "I can't hear you from down there! Speak up!"

Robin grinned good naturedly as Wally and Chesnaught chuckled.

"Hello everyone." Kaldur said politely as he also walked up, much more sedately than his younger friends. "M'gann, Red. It's good to see you."

"You too." M'gann smiled brightly. "Today should be fun."

"First team training course!" Kid Flash sighed dramatically. "With the beheeeeyotiful Black Canary. Best training ever!"

"Oh yeah," Robin said with a smirk. "Because training means something different in Wallyworld."

"You'll understand when you've matured." Kid Flash waved idly at the annoyed look he got from Robin. The yellow speedster waved a hand, activating the various motion sensors of the cave. A holographic table appeared.

"We have air hockey?" I asked, startled. How had I missed it after all my time there? "Who installed that? I can't see Batman or Red Tornado putting it in."

"You're welcome." Robin answered smarmily.

"So," Wally grabbed one of those handle things all air hockey tables use. As he twirled it in his hand, he gave us a cocky grin. "Who's up for a game while we wait?"

I declined immediately. I may be getting stronger and faster, but I was _not_ going to be up to challenging Wally's superhuman reaction speeds.

I definitely watched though. Kaldur accepted the challenge, and soon the two were sending the holographic disk flying back and forth. Wally made it look easy, even eating a banana while playing, but Kaldur did really well regardless. Maybe Atlanteans also had superhuman reaction speeds?

As I was contemplating that, the Zeta-Tube activated. We all looked up to see Superboy.

A pissed off Superboy. He strode in like a storm, walking right through the table.

M'gann smiled at him. "Hi Superboy! How was Metropolis?"

He seemed ready to continue walking, but stopped. He gave her a look, then sighed. "Not great."

Aqualad and I shared a look. Metropolis and Superboy in a bad mood. Didn't take a 12th level intellect to figure out what was wrong.

"Superboy," Aqualad began to say.

"Ready for training everyone?" We looked over to see Black Canary and Martian Manhunter walking up.

Can I just say it still trips my mind up that I live a life now where I see **superheroes** every day?

"Black Canary." I called out in greeting, getting a smile. I had only met her the one time on the Watchtower, but the million watt smile I got from her was gratifying.

"Uncle J'onn!" M'gann flew forward and engulfed her uncle in a hug, get a wide smile from the usually stern faced man. "I was so worried!" She said happily.

"Worried?" He asked, surprised. "What for?"

She pulled back to look at him. "Batman sent us a message when you were fighting Amazo. We saw you get thrown."

Dinah and J'onn seemed surprised at that, while the others were confused. Still, J'onn quickly switched into a reassuring smile. "I'm okay. We managed to defeat our opponent. It simply took a long time."

He was quick to change the subject. "Now, I came to see how you were doing." Superboy's face became stone at that, though I think I was the only one who noticed. "How are you adjusting?"

"Great! I've learned a lot, and I'm even teaching a bit."

Once again, J'onn was surprised. The pair would have continued if Black Canary hadn't noticed Superboy about to walk off.

"Stick around." She said, her smile switching to a neutral gaze. "Class is in session."

Superboy turned, his own face grim.

Oh boy. Things weren't going to go well.

We gathered obediently as Black Canary moved to stand across from us, the floor lighting up beneath us.

Dinah began to speak. "I consider it an honor to be your teacher." She said as she began to remove her jacket. "I'll throw a lot at you. Everything I've learned from my own mentors-Uh!" She winced, rubbing a bandage on her arm. She gave us a small smile "And my own bruises."

"Amazo?" I asked, worried for her.

"It's nothing." She threw the jacket aside, confidence in motion. "Just part of the job. Now, combat is about controlling conflict, putting the battle on your terms."

I could see that this version of her also trained at the Ted Grant School of Hard Knocks. He was always telling me about that. Never let the bad guy's control how you fight. Never get caught in a corner. And always flow with battle, rather than letting it rip you apart. Be like water, as Bruce Lee would say.

"You should always be acting, never reacting."

I took a moment to mull that one over. Maybe she was saying, always plan ahead? After all, if you had every eventuality covered, you were always acting to them, right? Still, it was an odd way of saying that.

"I'll need a sparring partner."

"Eep!"

Everyone in the room turned to look at me. I coughed in my fist, hiding the squeal of fear that had popped up. "Sorry. Bit of a cough."

"Really?" Dinah smiled. It was not a million watt smile. It was a dark, dark smile. "And would you like to volunteer?"

"…Yes ma'am." I took my hat and jacket off, leaving me in my armored T-shirt.

"Lucky." Wally muttered under his breath as I stepped forward.

Damnit Wally, I'm about to get my ass kicked. Stop acting like she just asked me on a date.

I raised arms up as I moved forward. "I must warn you. I bruise easily."

She smiled indulgently at my joke, then lashed out, slowly, with her right fist at my face. And by slowly, I mean wicked fast, but not as fast as she probably could.

I dipped aside, focusing as best I could, and tried to punch back with my own right, only to realize her first punch was a feint, and her right hand was now ready to grab my wrist. I barely pulled my arm back before she could grab it, but the move left me off balance. She fluidly moved her left hand out and grabbed my shoulder, twisting me around.

I went with the motion, trying to spin back to my stance, but the damage was done. She went down, spun her leg out, and I was suddenly on my stomach and in a huge amount of pain.

"Ouchie." I groaned.

"Good job." Dinah said with a smile. "You reacted well." To the others she said. "Did anyone see what he did wrong?"

"He acted like a fraidy cat?" Robin asked with a grin that was shared by Wally.

"She's a badass, and I reacted to her badassness." I said as Dinah helped me up. She ignored our little byplay.

"He allowed me to dictate the terms of-"

"Oh, please."

Damnit. Here it comes. I groaned under my breath as we all looked over at Superboy. His arms were crossed in a fashion that was somewhere between badass and petulant.

"With my powers, the battle's always on my terms." He uncrossed his arm to point his thumb at himself, than raised his hands to make fists. "I'm a living weapon, and this is a waste of my time."

I looked over at Dinah, hoping that she would use those counseling skills Batman had mentioned to talk him down. Tell him that he still could learn a bit, and he wasn't a weapon, but a person.

My heart sank when her neutral face shifted into a confident smirk.

"Prove it."

Superboy cocked an eyebrow, intriguied, then stepped forward.

"God help me." I groaned, walking to join the others. "Welp, have at it then."

I was immensely annoyed, both at Superboy for letting whatever happened in Metropolis bring out his arrogant side, and Black Canary for allowing it. I conceded that she probably knew best what to do, but it was still annoying.

Superboy was the one I was really annoyed at. Because I knew what was going to happen.

Superboy was strong. Very strong. But Black Canary had just come off a fight with a Superman level bad guy with nothing but a wounded arm.

I sighed the first time he got dropped on his back, and felt relief when Kaldur cut off Robin's laughter at the sight with a shove to his arm. The Boy Wonder seemed delighted though, and could barely muffle himself.

The second time, he charged in at Dinah just as she was mid-lecture. Superboy made a better show of it, but he still ended up on his back thanks to some impressive acrobatics on Dinah's part.

Unfortunately, the six month old choose to show his age after that.

"I'm done." He growled as he rose up.

"Superboy, it's okay to get thrown a bit man." I spoke up.

The look of raw anger I got from him when I said that was a bit scary. "I don't need to hear that from _you._ "

"…Awkward." Wally stage-whispered.

As Superboy looked between Dinah and me like he was deciding who he disliked most, a beeping noise filled the air, followed by a holo-screen with Batman's face.

"Batman to the cave." He began. "Five hours ago, a new menace attacked Green Arrow and Black Canary." Another screen showed in the left top corner to show Amazo.

It looked a lot like I remembered. But real of course. Amazo resembled a tall, muscular bare-chested human man. However, the resemblance was not perfect. He had pointed ears, and lacked eyebrows or nipples, which was kinda weird, as well as pale almost grey skin. Its face was stern, with chiseled cheeks, a square jaw, and a narrow nose. The crown of its head was orange to imitate close-cropped hair. Portions of its body were green, resembling clothes. Its eyes were a haunting red, almost seeming to glow in those dark pits.

"The attacker was capable of studying, then duplicating the powers and abilities of its opponents. Arrow called in reinforcements, which nearly proved disastrous as our foe gained more and more power with each new combatant."

As Batman spoke, the view pulled back to reveal that Amazo was standing in a ruined street. Superman flew in towards Amazo, only for the machine to step back and grab him then started spinning him to batter away Red Tornado and the Flash. Then he let Superman go to follow up with some blasts of heat vision.

"Whoa." Wally said, shocked. "One guy with the powers of the entire League?"

He was right. Amazo tended to be a force to be reckoned with, even as limited as its mental abilities were in most incarnations. But hopefuly my advice had helped a bit.

"In the end, it took 8 leaguers three hours to defeat and dismantle the android."

Apparently not. Damn, a three hour battle? My inner nerd sang at how badass that fight must have been, even as my new inner hero worried at the damage it must have caused.

"An android?" Robin asked. "W, who made it? T. O. Morrow?"

"Good guess, Robin." The small bit of praise got an interesting reaction from Superboy, who looked away sadly. I was starting to see a better picture of Superboy thanks to his reaction to J'onn visiting M'gann just because, and Batman now praising Robin.

"It was someone named Ivo." Everyone looked over at M'gann, who became a bit shy at the attention. "R, Right Red?"

I winced when all attention switched to me. "Yeah. Professor Ivo. Don't remember his first name though."

"Professor Anthony Ivo." Now Martian Manhunter had our attention. "And I agree. This technology carries his signature."

"Barechested musclemen?" I couldn't help it. It just slipped out.

"Hah!" Wally laughed. No one else seemed as amused, but I accepted that.

"Ivo," Aqualad sounded stunned. "But Ivo's dead."

The hell? Really?

"So we all thought. Or hoped." Black Canary told him over her shoulder.

"Huh. Must have a hell of health insurance plan then." I mumbled to Aqualad, who nodded so sternly it took a moment for me to realize he'd gotten the joke.

"To make certain this threat is permanently neutralized we're sending two trucks carrying the android's parts to two separate Star Labs facilities in Boston and New York for immediate evaluation." A screen opened on Batman's right showing a map detailing the route.

"Every precaution is being taken. We'll have four additional decoy trucks to create confusion in case Ivo -or anyone- tries to recover the remains. You will split into undercover teams to safeguard the two real trucks."

"Yesss!" Wally called out. "Road trip."

As a guy who once had a job as a trucker, I was not as much of a fan.

Apparently neither was Superboy. "So now we take out your trash?"

"You had something better to do?"

Damn. Batman with the sick burns.

"Quick question." I cut in, lifting a hand. "Maybe Latias and me should be in the air while this happens? We're fast enough to cover any of the vans if they get attacked, maybe even stop an attack on a decoy to make things look good."

"Good strategy." Hehe, Batman just complimented me. "But having you with the trucks while under cover allows for more power at an immediate concern."

I could see that. Rather than having me fly from one truck or the other, me and my Pokemon could back-up the teams more directly.

Kaldur's wrist computer beeped, and he checked it over, already in mission mode. "Coordinates received. On our way."

As we all left I saw Black Canary stop Superboy for a moment and whisper something to him. He didn't respond.

I didn't have time to worry about that though. It was time for another mission.


	16. Profile 422

**_Profile #422_**

Subject: Mahmoud Schahed

Codenamed: Trainer Red

Height: 172.72 cm (5 ft, 8 in)

Weight: 89.35 kg (197 lb)

Distinctive Markings: Small C-shaped scar on right hand, knuckles scarred from previous fights

Physical Description: Long curly hair. Short beard streaked with red.

Personal History: Comes from another universe, one where Pokemon are common, and this world is fictional. Claims to have no memories of how he appeared on the outskirts of Metropolis. After appearing, he stopped a bank robbery (See: Incident #575571) using Chesnaught (See: Profile #423) and Heatran (See: Profile #424) before flying to the outskirts of the Kent Farm on Latias (See: Profile #425).

He claims to have no idea he was headed to the Kent Farm. Due to his proximity, and the appearance of a sudden storm in the area, Martian Manhunter was sent to confront him. Mahmoud proved to be benign, and the meeting revealed many things about him, such as his knowledge of our universe, and his control over his Pokemon.

As of now, he is constantly under surveillance. While he has claimed to have no ill intentions, the coincidence of his arrival on the outskirts of Metropolis, the bank robbery that went down just as he was walking past, and instinctual need to go to the Kent Farm, as well his severe reaction to the Lasso of Truth (See: Profile #03 ( _Wonder Woman_ ), and Item #724) all make it necessary to keep watch over him.

Personality Profile: Psychologically, he is extroverted. He often searches out company, often doing his work in the presence of his Pokemon and others. He has shown a protective attitude towards his Pokemon, as seen when he broke the jaw of a man who suggested vivisecting Jirachi (See: Incident #600012). He is also a bookish man, often reading or talking about the various fictions of his universe.

(Note: All the fictions he's spoken of may be real, and may find a way to connect with this one much as he has. As such, files are being made for all of them. Of particular note are the 'Wormverse' and 'Marvelverse', universes he's mentioned are similar to our own. While these matters are only speculation, allowing these universe entrance into this one without a plan in place would not be prudent. As such, the Multiverse file system has been created.)

He has shown a humorous streak, though not as pronounced as heroes such as Kid Flash. He seems to employ this as a defense mechanism, in order to 'lighten the mood'. This may be a trait he'll have to work on.

He is a fan of our universe, and will often act starstruck when meeting heroes. Wildcat(See Profile #09), Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern(See: Profile #24)have all noted this trait of his.

On patrol, while nervous during his first few patrols, he has quickly become comfortable at a pace faster than projected. This and his quick adaptation to his current training schedule, lend credence to his claims of being a hero in his own dimension.

Abilities: Currently being trained by Ted Grant in boxing, and has some informal training in wrestling. His abilities of a fighter are nearly negligible compared to most others in his field however.

His true threat lies in his 'Pokemon.' Pocket Monsters, an apt term for creatures who can be stored in a space the size of an apple, are creatures Red has under his command. Each is capable of superhuman combat, and have personalities and intelligence as complex as many humans. As they follow his commands, their abilities are, in many ways, his abilities as well.

With this midset, he is one of the most versatile combatants in the world. Super-strength, flight, energy projection, hydrokinesis, weather manipulation, telekinesis, telepathy, healing, and even plant manipulation.

Even more dangerous however, is his knowledge of our universe. Mahmoud Schahed currently knows the identities or possible identities of every hero and villain. Those he can remember. He knows their weaknesses, histories, personalities, and psychological proclivities.

A bit of training could make him one of the most dangerous people alive. Even if all of his Pokemon were to disappear, the simple possession of this knowledge makes him worth keeping an eye on.

(Note: Thanks to his knowledge however, I now have forewarning of a possible threat to Gotham (See: Project No Man's Land))

Threat Level: Yellow. (Note: For some reason he found this funny. Yet more questions.)

Weaknesses: The removal of his Pokemon from his person before he can release them is crucial. While they are in their capture units, Pokeballs, they are dormant, and so can be safely contained. Knocking him out before he can release them is also an option.

If he does release him, knocking him out or keeping him from communicating with his Pokemon (Either verbally or telepathically) becomes a priority, to keep him from providing tactical or logistical support. From there, utilizing the weaknesses of his Pokemon against them becomes the goal.

Each Pokemon is capable of acting independently if they wish, so a file has been created on each one, and several strategies are being built for dealing with them separately or as a group.


	17. A Wizard Did It

**_August 3rd, 19:02_**

A quick trip brought us to Connecticut, in a place called Litchfield County. Me and the others were seated in some bushes watching as the Justice League helped some STAR Labs guys put the parts of Amazo into the vans.

We were all in civilian gear. For me, that meant putting my long jacket away for a shorter version without my hood, though I kept my hat. Like everyone else, I was sitting on a motorcycle, a dark red one with my Pokeball symbol on the top of the gas tank. On my back was Jirachi.

She was lying back against me with her 'scarves' wrapped around my shoulders like backpack straps. The idea was that people who drove by would only see her as a strange backpack. Of course, she was loving the idea of being a 'spy', and was doing her best to stay still.

Are you okay kid? Wally asked Jirachi though the link. I figure Red's driving might have scared you.

I smiled at that. Even with the AI inside the thing, I still had trouble figuring out how to use the thing. I've always been a car guy.

No, I'm okay. How about you all? Jirachi wiggled slightly against my back, then stilled.

We're good. Just hoping this will be over soon. Wally yawned. This escort stuff is boring.

It is important however. Kaldur said over the link, serious as always. The technology behind this machine could bring new advances to the scientific community on the surface.

…The surface huh? I thought about that before 'speaking'. Weird.

Kaldur looked over at me, frowning in confusion at my response. Is something wrong?

I smiled, trying to convey thoughtful amusement over the link. Nah. Just something I need to think about.

The surface he said. Meaning any advancements made by studying would, presumably, not go to Atlantis as well. That spoke of a real problem that has always annoyed me about comics.

The need for the status quo. No giving tech to Atlantis, no magic being traded back from them. I understood the reasoning from a writing perspective, people like continuity, but they also like something simple to get into, so an Atlantis with tech from the hundreds of super-villains and heroes through sixty years through it might be confusing I guess.

But this was real life. There was no reason not build some sort of power armor out of Amazotech for the guards of Atlantis, or give a group of 'surface' soldiers magic to supplement their mundane weaponry.

In fact, why not use that stuff to upgrade the team? I was already planning ways to make my Pokemon some new items that could help them withstand the various threats of this world, and the friends I'd made from STARLabs had taken a look at them. Maybe they could figure out something?

I was brought from my thoughts by something very simple.

He was tall. Built, as his suit easily showed. His blue eyes flashed around the area. He should have looked ridiculous, walking around with red underwear on a blue suit and red cape flowing behind him. But he moved with the grace of an acrobat, somehow having this… presence, in the world, that I couldn't understand, but felt.

Superman. Through the thick bushes that hid the team, I could see Superman.

It was a strange feeling. The man who has inspired so many, throughout the multiverse. More people can name Superman than can name their countries leader. Everyone knows him.

And here he was striding across the small field where the vans were. As I watched, awed, he looked over at us. Then, very quickly, he looked away.

What?... oh.

Superboy looked away as well. Apparently the two had met eyes. X-Ray vision.

Damn. I felt for both of them. Superboy for having so much to live up to. Superman for the violation visited on him by those he would have sacrificed his life for.

Cadmus had appealed to have one of their people look at my Pokemon. I refused. Vehemently. And this was just one more reason why.

I looked back through the bushes to see Batman talking to Wonder Woman. The two turned away from each other and went their separate ways. The Caped Crusader looked over at the Man of Steel, who was facing the other way. Then he simply walked away.

 _No diner scene._

I blinked, then scratched my head, scowling at the odd itch that had appeared.

Okay. Robin brought up his computer. Me, Jirachi, Red, and Superboy follow the Manhattan Truck.

And the beautiful people will follow the Boston truck. Kid Flash added with a smirk and a glance at Miss Martian.

You have it? I asked Kaldur.

He nodded, patting his side. Then he hesitated.

Are you… sure, about this? The Atlantean Soldier asked.

Only if you need to blow away a whole lot, very quickly. I sighed. This is a robot that took on the Justice League. I'd rather we leave both teams with a hell of a lot of power. Just in case.

I agree with the strategy. Kaldur pulled his hand away from his side. But will he listen?

It. I corrected. And yes. Once its job is done, it will return to me.

Time to go. Miss Martian warned us.

I turned away and revved my engine.

Go fast! Jirachi chirped excitedely. I grinned.

That's my girl. With that, I took off to follow the others.

 **PYJ**

So, if dislike is the opposite of like, is disaster the opposite of aster? Robin said over the link Jirachi was holding between the four of us. See, instead of things going wrong, they go right!

I… well, I guess? I blinked slowly as we continued, confused. I mean, maybe we have to google it first, to check?

What's google? Robin asked, confused.

Its-

I stopped to look at Superboy. He was glaring down at the road, obviously fuming.

I fought the urge to say anything. I wanted to help. But I'd screwed up the first time, trying to play the jokester, pushing him to talk to M'gann despite knowing his dislike for me. In short, I'd acted like an immature jackass, a problem a few of my ex's had complained about.

But I wanted to help. As annoying as I found his bad boy attitude, Superboy had an earnest and blunt nature that I liked. He was a good kid.

Sooo, looks like you're not feeling the aster.

Wait. Feeling the aster? That doesn't work right? Because you can't feel a disaster. So then-

Black Canary. Superboy interrupted my thoughts. What business does she have teaching combat skills to a guy with super strength?

Taking down stronger guys is part of the gig. Canary learned that the hard way. Same with Batman and, well... me. Robin said.

I responded to that just as Superboy was revving his engine. Robin… while I do think Superboy should try to learn a few things from Canary, I think he's kind of… right.

The two of them turned surprised eyes on me, and Jirachi focused her mental focus on my thoughts.

Super-strength users have a different style of fighting than guys like you and me, Rob. I explained, trying to say things clearly as possible. Superboy needs to learn from one. I mean, some of them need training as it is, like those guys who use cars as battering rams, despite the fact that their fist are already stronger than any car.

I frowned. Which is stupid. You have fists that can pierce concrete, and you grab some poor guys car to use as a bat? That's like if I decided a carton of eggs was more useful in a fight than my baton! What the hell!?

I readjusted quickly before I could fall over, as I'd let go of my bikes handles to gesture viciously. Anyways. We can probably see about Wonder Woman helping you? I asked her to give me some books from the Themiscyran Library, you can come with me while we meet and talk to her about it? And in the meantime, Black Canary can teach some solid stuff. The principle of throwing a punch or judo-flipping a stronger or heavier opponent never changes, and any good fighter should learn a few things from different disciplines.

Here's hoping that was a much better way to talk to Superboy. See, I was starting to realize that, right now, Superboy needed more than me shipping him with Miss Martian, or Superman acknowledging him. He needed what I had as a teenager. A support system, people who gave a damn enough to really teach him, and not just throw him into missions over and over.

Maybe I could help him find that? Was I willing to take that responsibility, broken as I was? Would Superboy even listen to me, or had I already screwed that up?

I-

Whatever Superboy was about to say was interrupted by a whistle through the air, followed by several black shapes careening towards the van in front of us from the fields alongside the highway. I craned my neck up to see…

"Oh you must be joking." I mumbled.

 _"_ _Robin, Superboy-"_

"Monkeys!" I yelled into my radio, annoyed as hell. "Freaking monkeybots!"

 _"_ _Oh, you guys too then?"_ Kid Flash quipped.

I stared, aghast, at the black and grey monkey robots that were flying through the air like something from Oz, grabbing onto the van in front of us.

Seriously. Monkeys. What in the world made them a logical design choice? What was wrong with simple drones? Why spend money giving them the ability to laugh like that?

I hate monkeys.

Superboy's growling tones made me chuckle. Yeah. Not a fan either. Then I grinned. Jirachi. Go kick some butt.

Woohoo! The tiny Pokemon, who had been resting silently on my back, unwrapped her scarves from me and went spinning into the air. Fight time!

Robin laughed joyously as he revved his engine. Robot monkeys!

Fight time! Jirachi called back to him, just as excited.

Then the adorable tyke was in amongst the robots. Her body shone silver as she activated Iron Head before slamming into one, sending it into pieces. She lashed with one of her scarves as the silver aura faded, smacking another monkey off the van, and lashed out with a psychic.

The monkeys fought back, lashing out with green laser beams. Some slammed into her, and she winced, a jolt of pain hitting me over the link between us, but fought more determinedly, still simply happy to be fighting.

Guys, switch your bike into battle mode! Robin thought at Superboy and me, his own bike already on one wheel as a drone floated above us to support Jirachi with blasts of fire.

I hurriedly smacked the console on my bike, maybe too hard, and wobbled a bit when the whole thing shifted beneath me.

No point. Superboy leaped off his bike, forcing me to swerve to avoid it. Robin simply leaped off his own bike land on the back of the van, holding on.

"Overzealous son of Luthor." I growled under my breath. Jirachi! Pick up!

Right! At the sound of her acknowledgement, I leaped off my own bike towards the van.

I knew, from the start, that I wouldn't make it. I didn't have Superboy's strength or Robin's athleticism.

But as always, I had my Pokemon.

Jirachi flew over me, grabbing me with her telekinesis and lifting me onto the van. I landed on the white metal and spun my baton out, lashing out at a robot that had leaped towards me. As it buckled under my baton, I got into a stance that would let me stay steady and punched at another monkey. My hand stung slightly, but the material of my glove protected my hand, and the punch let me stab the bot with the hardened point of my baton to unleash a burst of electricity into it.

One bot managed to blast Superboy's eyes as he was tearing them apart with his bare hands. The Teen of Steel roared, clutching at the burns on his face, and four bots went to grab him.

Let him go! Jirachi flew in and grabbed a bot, ripping it in half, then unleashed a Flash Cannon, the silver laser blast piercing through another one. The two bots left tried to lift Superboy anyway, but he grabbed one from his shoulder as they struggled with his weight and crunched it in his fist.

I took care of another one, ducking a laser blast. While they were scary, bullets had a much more primal feel, so I was feeling okay.

You okay Supey? Robin asked over the link as he leaded up to join us, taking out two bots with his own batons.

I'm fine! Even so, he was still clenching his eyes shut.

Jirachi, U-Turn, and then Wish to Superboy.

Yes master. She slammed into a monkey in a complex set of twists, leaving it damaged, before spinning to Superboy's side. Her eyes glowed as she floated there.

That was when disaster struck. The whole van suddenly listed over, and I stumbled. What just happened!? I yelled over the link.

The tires! Robin yelled back.

Well damn.

You get the driver! Robin, being the faster of us, ran towards the front as I ran towards Jirachi and Superboy. I fell off the van when it went sliding under my feet, sending me flying.

The last thing I saw before things went black was asphalt.


	18. Quite A Fall

August 3rd, 20:05

I woke up to the sight of Jirachi staring down at me tearfully, followed by Chansey. "Uh… sup?"

Master! Jirachi hugged me, and Chansey was only a second after.

After a second to readjust from where I was lying I hugged them back.

"Welcome back." Robin said nearby one of the destroyed monkeys. He had a cable running from the automaton to his wrist computer, and was working at it.

"Thanks." Jirachi and Chansey helped me up. "How long was I out?"

"About a minute." Robin looked up at me, giving me a worried smile. "I was worried when you fell, but your helmet saved your life, and you managed not to break your neck."

"Chansey." The pink Pokemon said sadly.

Shocked, I looked over at her. "What?"

"Chans, Sey."

I felt myself pale. Damn. All that damage. I should have died. Or at least been paralyzed.

Thank you Allah for giving me Chansey and Jirachi.

I rose to my feet. "What's next?"

Robin looked me over. Even without my instinctual understanding of Pokemon, Robin had seen my reaction.

"You sure?" He asked. "You got hit pretty hard. No one would think less of you if-"

"Robin," I urged him. "What's next?"

He smiled and nodded. "Right. Well, Superboy went off on his own to follow the bots, and they've taken the Amazo parts. Kaldur's group also had the parts taken from them."

At that, I lifted a hand to my ear. "Hey fellas and lady."

"It is good to hear your voice again." Kaldur returned warmly over the radio. "We were worried."

"Yeah man, Robin said you took a real nasty fall." Kid Flash added, the bit of concern in his voice making me smile just a bit. He may have been a bit of a horndog, but the kid had a good heart.

"I'm good. Ready to fight." Pushing past my worries over that spill, I continued. "Did you…"

"No," Kaldur answered "I was, but I decided the chance of destroying the parts was too high."

I could understand that. In the end, the value of the Amazo parts was huge. We had to get them back if we could.

That said, I had no problems with having the thing melted to scrap if needed.

Ignoring that thought, I turned to Robin. "Did Superboy tell you where they're headed?" Robin winced.

"No uh… he took out his comms. Said he didn't need help."

"And I can't sense him." M'gann added, her first contribution to the conversation, her voice worried over the radio.

"Jirachi?" I asked my pintsized powerhouse. She placed her hands to her head in response, a habit she'd picked up from M'gann, Chansey looking over at her curiously.

…I can, but he's too far away to talk to. She put her hands down, an oddly mature look of worry on her face. He's still angry master. He doesn't want us.

"…Huh." After a moment I nodded. "Okay. Then we move from there."

What else could I say? Superboy had gone, essentially, rogue. We just had to deal with the situation as it was. Right now, he was headed where we had to go as well. If Ivo got his hands on the Amazo parts and put them together, Superboy was the most durable member of the team besides maybe Chesnaught or Chansey. So while the Teen of Steel going off on his own was a bad idea for multiple reasons, the situation was not as bad as it could be.

As long as we got moving of course.

"I figured that they must have been tracking the parts somehow. They're headed for Gotham, and I'm downloading the tracking program the monkeys use." Robin looked at his wrist computer when it beeped at him and nodded in satisfaction. "Done! Now we just to get there."

He pressed a button, and in the distance I heard a motorcycle rev. He turned to me.

"You should get your bike too."

I stared at him. Then I turned to Jirachi and Chansey, who had been waiting by patiently. "Ladies. Please return to your Pokeballs.

Kay. See you soon Master!

"Chan!"

The two disappeared into the balls at my waist, and I turned to Robin.

"Rob. We are not taking motorcycles. We are riding Latias."

"Oh?" He cocked his head, curious. "How fast is she?"

"Last I checked?" I pulled the Eon Flute to my lips and played a short tune. As a sonic boom played in the distance, I looked over at my younger friend. "Don't know anymore actually."

Latias alighted down next to us. I smirked before giving my girl a soft smile.

"Let's find out."

Ready when you are Master. Latias nuzzled me slightly, and I rubbed her neck, smoothing out some of her feathers.

"One sec." I pressed my hand to my ear again, touching the ear bud. "Kaldur. I need to do something. And hopefully, this goes off without any problems."

I told him my plan. After a quiet moment, he responded with a hesitant affirmative. With that, we all signed off.

"Huh. Okay then. Let's beat up robots." Robin said with a grin. "But first I need to change."

I felt like asking if we had time for that, but with a pull of his jacket he revealed his usual red shirt with the yellow 'R' on the chest underneath. The bike he'd been ready to use wheeled over to us on one tire, and a compartment opened up with his cape inside. As he placed that on, I switched my own jacket for my longer and armored up one, placing my hat and hood on.

I got onto Latias, our minds linking as I did, and Robin hopped up behind me.

"Okay, lets-" With a mental push, Latias took off like an arrow from a bow as she exploded into Mega form, her speed forcing Robin to hang on tight. "GOOOOOOOWOOOOO!"

PYJ

"YEEEEEAAAAAH!"

I had a wide grin on my face as Robin cheered like the kid he was, Latias trilling with joy underneath us, and the silence of the air around us.

Yes, silence, because apparently while Latias' force field allowed us to speak with one another and only feel a light breeze, there was still the silence that came with breaking the speed of sound, then going five times that.

"Where we headed?" I asked Robin.

"The train." He pointed at a long set of cars rumbling far below us. One of which had a very obvious hole ripped into the top. "Superboy's work?" Robin asked.

Instead of answering directly, I focused on the link between us. Latias, can you sense him? Link us up if you can.

Got it… he's there! Hold on.

Suddenly a fourth presence was in our heads. A pissed off bundle of rage kind of presence.

Thank god. Pissed off is better than dead.

Superboy, we're here. You in the train?

I don't need help!

"Whoa, hostile!" Robin said behind me.

I nodded just a bit.

"He's there then. Latias, bring us down and get ready with a prot-"

I was cut off when Superboy came crashing through the metal wall of a car to slam into the cliffside along the tracks and then into a bulldozer on the next car.

"Superboy!" I cried out, worried for the kid.

That's when it stepped out.

Amazo.

He was massive. His red eyes looked down at Superboy, impassive. Even Red Tornado had a soul to him, he made an attempt, as half-assed as it was, to emulate life.

Amazo, despite his human appearance, was the most inhuman thing I've ever seen.

He stepped forwards towards Superboy and grabbed him.

Then Superboy went flying towards the city.

Damn that thing was strong! "Latias, Flamethrower!"

We rocketed down and Latias unleashed hot flames onto Amazo, the whistle of air being ignited filling our ears.

Amazo surprised me. He looked over at us. Blinked. Then he looked over at the train, where a small figure stood in the hole made by Superboy's impact. Then he flew towards Superboy.

"What the hell?" I asked as we flew over the train, watching the robot fly off in shock.

"Apologies!" The three of us looked back at the train. A short redheaded man was being lifted off the train by the robot monkeys from earlier. "I'm afraid Amazo doesn't like changing targets without good reason!"

He chuckled, a light, self-satisfied chuckle. "I suppose that adorable creature you're riding didn't register as a threat!" He called from far below us.

…Fuck this guy.

We need to save Superboy. Robin reminded me. Apparently my irritation had come through the link. Amazo nearly killed eight league members. We need to bring him down.

It was a tense moment before I nodded reluctantly. Even as I did, I was still taking a moment to look over Ivo, because who else could this smarmy redhead be? He looked back at me, a smug smile on his face.

Then I urged Latias forwards.

PYJ

"Nice school." I mumbled as Latias landed on the lawn.

"Has its moments."

"This is you school?" I asked, surprised.

"Yep," Robin hopped off Latias as he typed at his computer. "Message sent to Aqualad. Come on."

Master? I looked at Latias. She looked back at me, a determined look on her face. I want to come too.

I stared at her. I didn't tend to bring Latias in on the bigger fights. She was the one who carried me into battle, the one who mediated my fights.

But she was asking. She wanted to fight. And the thing about telepaths is, when they want to, and sometimes without even knowing, they convey emotions.

She was a bit scared. She knew this wouldn't be like the back alley brawls of New York. But she couldn't just fly away knowing what was happening.

I could relate to that. How could I tell her, a superpowered dragon with lasers and mach speed to avoid the battle, when normal guys like me and Robin were going in?

She knew my decision before I said a word, her mind still linked enough to mine that she could feel my reluctant approval.

A loud boom of metal and wood splitting filled the air then.

That's the science lab! The Boy Wonder said. Come on! Robin turned and ran with a whirl of his cape, leaving us to follow.

Leave Mega-form, we may need it later. I messaged Latias as we ran into the school, rushing through the darkened hallways.

Right! She reverted, shrinking in size and returning to her normal crimson shade. The three of us came to a hole in a hall where a trophy case and some lockers had been smashed. My foot crinkled on glass as I sprinted towards the hole. When we got there, Amazo was blasting Superboy with a light from his palm, sending the kid through the wall behind him and into a large room beyond.

Latias, Psychic!

Haaaa!

Amazo turned towards us as Latias began to glow with power. Before he could make a move, Latias lifted him in a telekinetic grip. Robin, capitalizing on the robot being held in the air, threw several shuriken at it.

"Accessing: Martian Manhunter." Amazo seemed to fade from existence, and Robin's shuriken went spinning past him to explode in the air. With nothing to hold onto, Latias' psychic grip faded, allowing Amazo to drop. He went corporeal again and lashed out his fist, which extended like a rubber band.

An arm-thick rubber band made of metal.

Protect!

My order came in time for Latias to bring up a translucent barrier around us, leaving Amazo's arm to smack into it. Latias yelped at the force of the blow, but held strong.

Amazo pulled back his arm, then spun around to gaze at the hole. It was a damn fast moment of indecision, but apparently he decided to go for Superboy.

"Accessing: Flash." He disappeared with unbelievable speed, taking us off-guard.

"Come on!" Robin yelled as we ran after the mecha monstrosity, diving in after it.

We found ourselves in a basketball gym. Robin landed on the floor with ease, while Latias gently lowered me down on a telekinetic platform.

Superboy was rising up, staring over at Amazo. And in the bleachers was Professor Ivo. Alongside him were his monkey bots, acting as bodyguards probably.

"And what do you know?" The psycho scientist said with a cheerful smile. "The Boy Wonder and the Beastmaster have come to join the fun."

"You jumping in?" I growled at the redhead.

"Oh, nonono." He chuckled. "I'm just a spectator."

"Too bad for you." Robin spun out his batons and got into a stance, that infamous smirk of his on his face. "We have the home advantage."

"Accessing: Superman." Amazo said blankly.

"Chesnaught!" I cried out, throwing out a pokeball.

"Bring it!" Superboy roared as he rushed forward.

Leave my friends alone! Latias cried out, letting out a cute roar that was overshadowed by the screaming whistle of her Dragon Pulse attack.

In the brief chaos of lights and sounds, I accessed the mental link between us.

Superboy, you're the toughest of us. We'll back you up. If we are going to take this thing down, it's going to be with you on point.

I felt a lot of emotions from Superboy as he rushed towards Amazo. Anger was the big one. But beneath that was so much more. A burgeoning realization. Some form of gratefulness towards someone. Grudging acceptance of something.

He didn't say anything back, simply rushing forward to punch Amazo in the face with a clang of metal on metal. Latias struck Amazo in the back with her Dragon Pulse at the same time.

Amazo took the blows with ease, and returned with a backhand to the face that sent Superboy reeling in pain. Amazo didn't stop, punching Superboy once, twice, then going for a kick.

Low Kick!

A green armored leg swept Amazo own legs out from under him, sending the robot down. Chesnaught roared, his own anger mixing with Superboy's through the link between us all.

"Oh? Well isn't that interesting?" Ivo leaned forward with a curious look on his face.

Latias, Psyshock!

My dragon girl ripped the floorboards of the gym apart, and sent the now razor-sharp blades of wood at the robot.

"Accessing: Martian Manhunter." The robot said as he lay on the floor, allowing the spikes to pass harmlessly through him.

I'd already expected him to do that. But while he was intangible it would give the rest of us time to get back in position. In the meantime, I was edging towards the bleachers, and sending an update to the others on what I was doing.

Guys, we're here to save the day! Kid Flash's cheery thought-speak was a balm for my fear.

Because damn, while my adrenaline was pumping, I knew damn well I was the weak link here. I had done a lot to make up for that recently, but it was still terrifying to think that we were fighting something that could pop my head off like a bottlecap.

Be advised, keeping back for now until we need you may be the best strategy. I thought towards him. Having you to smash them when they least expect it will be useful.

I didn't hear the response, turning my attention back to the fight. Amazo had hopped back to his feet and was now facing Chesnaught, who was growling at his opponent. Amazo crouched slightly, obviously preparing to attack.

Chesnaught, Spiky Shield!

"Accessing: Flash."

What happened next was mostly conjecture, as none of us were fast enough to see it. Chesnaught had raised his arms up, grinning just a bit as he prepared to go into his signature move. Amazo, moving at high speed, ran up to Chesnaught before the Grass Knight could activate his shield, smacked his arms aside, and punched Chesnaught dozens of times in the chest.

My bear went flying back in a cry of pain, and he crashed into the wall behind him.

Chesnaught! Latias' voice was heartbreaking to hear. She focused on Amazo and lifted him in another telekinetic bubble, sending the robot flying into the bleachers. She didn't focus on him to long, instead turning to look at me. Master, we-

Chesnaught's presence brushed our minds. He was hurt, but still in the fight. Latias sighed in relief, then narrowed her eyes at Amazo, determination flowing through her.

In the meantime, Amazo was rising from the bleachers he'd smashed with his body.

"Boom." The robot had no time to respond when the seven shuriken he hadn't noticed being placed around him exploded, obscuring him in smoke.

How did you even set that up!? I asked Robin, who had long since disappeared into the shadows.

With class. Was the smug response.

Fair enough. I focused my thoughts on Superboy. He's gonna pop out of the smoke. Might wanna knock him down when that happens. Latias will back you up.

…

Still not talking then. Regardless, Latias flew to Superboy's side, floating next to him as they watched the smoke with varying degrees of intensity.

"Amazo!" I looked over at Ivo, who was taping a finger against his chin. "These creatures intrigue me. Try scanning them. We might be able to make use of their powers."

Fuck you.

Amazo came out of the smoke and panned his eyes over to Chesnaught, who was rising from where he'd been launched. "Scanning: Chesna-"

Return.

The Grass Knight growled, as pissed off as I was, but reluctantly came to me. He turned into energy and went flying across the gym.

And over Ivo's head.

"What?" He turned to see me standing a few steps above him, my stun baton in one hand and Chesnaught's Pokeball in the other. I smiled as Chesnaught returned, relishing the shocked look on the short redhead's face at the sight of me.

"Hello there."

"Scan: Disrupted."

"Amazo, protect your master!" Ivo yelled as I leaped towards him, smashing a monkey into scrap with a swing of my baton while I reached out to grab his shirt.

"Come here you cowardly piece of-!" I spat out.

"Accessing: Red Tornado."

Superboy and Latias, who had been going in to attack, were sent flying in a gust of wind that came up around Amazo's legs. The robot pointed and arm at me and sent me flying with a cyclone moments before I could grab Ivo.

I screamed as the world went spinning, headed on a collision course for a brick wall. I was saved when a thin arm wrapped around me, pulling me away from death. Robin, swinging on a cable, dropped me to the ground.

Thanks. I said mentally.

No problem. He said back.

"Scanning: Latias. 12 percent complete."

Oh come on!

Latias, get to Kid Flash! I told her, not having a Pokeball to put her in. I'll call you in soon!

Mugyuu… Latias, for the first time since I'd known her, sounded frustrated and angry. Despite that, she flew towards the doors to the gym, blasting through them in a burst of psychic force.

"Well well, aren't we stingy with our adorable pets." Ivo shook his head, apparently back in good humor, though he made sure to keep close to his bots.

Superboy ran towards Amazo, fist outstretched.

"Accessing: Black Canary." Amazo, in a move that was a carbon copy of Canary's, grabbed Superboys arm and sent him flying, using his own momentum against him. Amazo then turned towards me and Robin and unleashed a sonic cry, forcing us to leap away from each other.

Despite my dodge, the Canary Cry had its effects. First, the sheer volume of noise made my ears scream in pain. Second, I felt pieces of shrapnel slam into my back, debris from the Canary Cry destroying the baskeball floor. They didn't pierce my armored jacket, but the stone and wood left painful reminders that I would need Chansey soon.

Ivo chuckled as Robin and I rolled to our feet, my right hand reaching for my pokeballs as we both eyed the robot.

"Still, probably for the best. Even with those creatures, you still can't quite match up to the Justice League."

"Accessing: Superman." Amazo's red eyes brightened with light.

"Move!" Robin yelped, leaping to his right with athletic grace.

Laser beams, copied from Superman's legendary heat vision, flew across the gap towards Robin. When the Boy Wonder ducked behind the bleachers, Amazo turned his head towards me. I ducked as fast I could, rolling as I did so.

The blazing heat of Amazo's power made the hair on my arms burst into flame and disappear in a flash, and I only just escaped being bar-b-qued.

"I supposed in the end, none of you can really match up." Ivo said with a mock sigh.

I'd remember that moment as Ivo's mistake.

Superboy's presence suddenly roared through my mind. He got up from where Amazo had thrown him, eyes filled with determination.

Can we destroy this thing?

The question surprised me. I rolled to my feet to find Amazo standing before me. He lifted his arm high. My eyes widened, and I reached for my belt.

But I was too slow. Even as I reached, a massive arm lowered.


	19. Shut-Down!

**_August 3rd, 21:03 PM_**

Amazo suddenly looked to his left, towards the shadows.

 _"_ _Accessing: Martian Manhunter."_

He went intangible. I saw a small projectile fly through him, but didn't pay too much attention to it. I got my feet and hopped away.

We can, but we're supposed to keep it intact as much as possible. Despite that, I shook my head. But at this rate… Kaldur?

Our team leader, who had been listening with tense patience at the edge of our perception, spoke. I am in the air above you with M'gann. Do you need assistance?

More like permission. Superboy replied, leaning up on one knee. We might not be able to keep Amazo intact if we go all out. What should we do?

To his credit, Aqualad didn't hesitate. STARLabs will have to make do with what is left. Even partially intact, the robot will be useful. In the meantime, capture Ivo. He would be more useful overall.

Grim determination filled our link, coming from all sides. Aqualad focused his thoughts. Team. Take him down. We're coming in.

The entire conversation, said at the speed of thought, was mere seconds. I was still dodging Amazo when Superboy launched from the bleachers Amazo had thrown him into. Right towards Ivo.

The Professor screamed in fear, hurriedly dodging the seemingly berserk young man. "Amazo! Protect me! Priority Alpha!"

"Not gonna work!" Superboy roared, his fingers splitting apart Ivo's robots as he rushed towards the scientist.

Amazo turned, focused on protecting his master.

Time for the Zerg Rush. I said over the link.

As swipe of my hands grabbed three Pokeballs in my right hand and two in my left. I snapped them open as Amazo began to fly towards Superboy.

In fight flashes of light, my team appeared with various roars, growls, and excited calls of their names.

"Jirachi, Iron Head!"

Yep! The tiny Pokemon launched into Amazo, sending the robot flying. As Amazo went through the air, he said something, though I couldn't hear it to well.

Robin! Kaldur called out.

Already there! The acrobat slammed his escrima sticks into Amazo's neck, clotheslining the mecha to the ground. Robin tossed his sticks away after, the thick rods completely bent out of shape, before hopping away.

Superboy leaped onto the prone Amazo and pounded down on him, shortly joined by the once again released Chesnaught. Roaring in unison, the two of them pounded down on Amazo, shattering the ground beneath him. The robot flexed, throwing them off and sending them flying.

As he rose up, Heatran blasted him with her Flash Cannon and Slowbro unleashed a Scald. The silver lazer beam and steaming hot water didn't damage Amazo, but they did force him back before he could attack Superboy and Chesnaught. Slowbro lazily stopped his attack once Amazo was forced back, though his Shellder was growling angrily. Heatran stopped as well, barking in agreement while I told her to move around for a better angle.

Chansey ran in and healed Superboy with a Heal Pulse, before turning to Chesnaught. She gave Amazo a look that was way too angry for someone so cute while Chesnaught rose to his feet, but relented when I told her to. She was tough, and durable, but Amazo wouldn't get hurt by anything she could dish out.

Coming in! Kid Flash burst into the room, speeding over to Ivo and slamming him into the ground. Ivo's monkeys tried to blast Kid Flash, only for blue blades and two sources of telekinetic power to take them down.

Ivo secured. A speedster, Martian, Atlantean, and dragon said simulteanously.

Latias and M'gann came floating in as Kaldur stepped forward, Kid Flash quickly securing the squirming Ivo.

 _"_ _Captain Atom."_ Amazo said as he rose up, forgoing the usual 'Accessing'. He raised a hand to aim at those holding his creator down, unleashing a blast of energy.

Dodge! Kaldur barked. The group dived away. Kid Flash picked up Ivo and sped away to a corner, dropping the scientist in a heap.

"Ow! Watch it you buffoon!" Ivo complained.

We ignored him, choosing instead to face off against Amazo, lining up before him. Amazo looked at us all in silence, processing things.

"So you choose to stand against him?" From his corner, Ivo laughed. "What can you do!? My Amazing Amazo took on the Justice League for eight hours!"

"We aren't the League." I growled. "Your tin can survived eight hours. Now we're going to take him apart."

Kaldur's calm voice echoed in my mind. Red, stay back and direct your Pokemon while keeping an eye on Amazo. Kid, Robin, we'll back up Superboy. M'gann, long range.

Heatran, Slowbro, Latias, long-range as well. I added. Chesnaught, Chansey, Jirachi, back up Superboy.

That's all I could say. Amazo's eyes suddenly shone bright. _"_ _Accessing: Jirachi."_

Well, he had to copy one sometime.

Amazo suddenly glowed silver, and he blazed forward in an imitation of Jirachi's Iron Head towards Kid Flash.

Heatran, intercept!

My personal lava monster rushed forward and got in the way, barking in slight pain as Amazo tackled her. She pushed back, allowing Superboy to lay a haymaker on Amazo. The monstrosity barely flinched, instead releasing a beam of power similar to Jirachi's Dazzling Gleam.

Heatran and Superboy tanked the attack, but were still forced to take a step back. Heatran barked, mouth opening wide at my order, while Superboy kept well back. A red glow began to flower within Heatran's maw.

High in the sky, Latias came in like dive bomber, while Slowbro circled around the back. Their own mouths opened, and the three of them unleashed hell.

 _"_ _Accessing: Superman."_ I growled in disappointment when Heatran, Slowbro, and Latias' Flamethrowers were easily weathered. Apparently the big robot knew Jirachi's weaknesses, and so had dodged my attempts to capitalize on them.

For something dumber than Siri, this thing could be damn cunning.

Gonna need to go big to take him down. I admitted.

We need him to go intangible again. Superboy said in our thoughts suddenly. If we can do that, and I can get to him before he goes tangible again…

Understood. Kaldur said.

Red! I looked over at M'gann. She pointed at the debris on the floor. We can send the debris at him! Force him to go intangible!

Slowbro, Jirachi, Latias!

Right! Latias said as she floated to join Miss Martian.

"Slow!" Slowbro growled.

On it Master! Jirachi said cheerfully.

The next few minutes passed with horrific speed. There were moments where things seemed to go in slow motion, and others that were a blur, thanks to the efforts of Kid Flash and Amazo with Flash powers.

The team went into full battle mode, and I could barely understand the chaos even as Aqualad and I tried to make some sense of it while ordering our teams to work as one.

I had to keep pulling my Pokemon back into their Pokeballs and throwing them back out to keep Amazo from either killing or scanning them completely. This made my focus entirely one of command. I had to be ready to throw in Chansey where she could heal one of the group, Heatran where she could snipe, Chesnaught to take a blow. Red lights and roars flashed with my actions, and my hands became raw from the constant throwing of the metal orbs in my hands.

Superboy led the charge, supported by the rest. He kept the bots attention, forcing it to put most of its attacks on him as he rung the things bell. More often than not Superboy would be sent flying back, but his Kryptonian DNA gave him the strength to keep pushing.

Chesnaught was the perfect backup. He was tough enough to survive Amazo's blows, and strong enough to push the big bot back. I had to order him back whenever Amazo managed to switch into something that could put the hurt on the big guy, like a Dazzling Gleam or blast of Heat Vision.

Chansey stayed on medic duty, keeping the rest fighting. Amazo quickly figured out her role, and tried to kill her. But my personal pink blob took his blows without a sound, doggedly pushing on and healing the rest, and Amazo couldn't keep attacking her without the rest of us taking him down.

Aqualad would lash out with cutting blades and mauling hammers, tanking blows of his own when Superboy and Chesnaught couldn't. When he could, he picked up the water left over by Slowbro's attacks to supplement his abilities, blasting Amazo with water running with an electrical current. Even then, he spent more time doing what I was, guiding the tide of the battle as best we could. With M'gann and Latias acting as relays, Aqualad's tense voice became the soundtrack of the battle.

Robin was incredible, dodging and diving around Amazo while slamming fists and feet into him, sending explosives when he could. More than once while I was running around, I saw Robin appear from the shadows with a well-placed bomb or attack, saving our lives before disappearing again.

Kid Flash and Jirachi, being the most mobile of the close range fighters, used their speed to tear into Amazo. They played the distraction, diving in and out of combat at high speed. I had to hold back a bit with Jirachi. Amazo had her powers now, and I didn't want to risk him knowing how to use her more devastating techniques in case he had to see them to even know they were available.

The pair got hurt more often than the others, their relative fragility working against them.

I nearly screamed the first time Jirachi took a punch to the face, and it was only Kaldur's warning that kept me from pulling out my baton to attack. Jirachi shook her head and grinned in response to the attack.

My turn! She slammed into Amazo again, diving back to be healed by Chansey. The whole time she had that adorable smile, one that my other Pokemon mirrored.

Pokemon really are battle-maniacs.

Meanwhile, the long range team made every attempt to force Amazo to go intangible.

M'gann and Latias danced through the air, dodging when Amazo flew up to engage them, and slamming him with as much force as they could. Both kept the link between us up, allowing us to respond at high speeds even as they launched objects at him. M'gann was far more agile a fighter in the air, but Latias' protect was able to completely no-sell Amazo's strength, though I could feel the strain on both of them from the constant use of their powers.

Slowbro worked from the ground. He threw objects at Amazo when he could, and spent much of the battle using his water techniques to force the robot back with pure power. He worked great alongside Kaldur, as both could supplement the techniques of the other.

Heatran was the best fighter there however. Her Fire/Steel typing meant that literally nothing Amazo had could really hurt her. She was wicked fast, not as much as Kid Flash, but enough that I could have her dancing around the battle field, sending ice, fire, and steel-lasers blasting at him.

Until I heard those horrific words.

 _"_ _Scan Complete."_ Amazo looked over at Heatran. _"_ _Accessing: Aqualad."_

"Fudgenipples." I growled.

The robot put his hands out, and the water Kaldur and Slowbro had been using against him rose into the air. He ran towards Heatran as the water formed into blades in his hands, and I recalled Heatran to allow Amazo to slash at nothing but empty air.

That was the problem in this fight. Amazo was impossible to put down. We'd tried to force him to go intangible like Superboy had asked, by he was favoring the tougher superheroes he'd copied, which allowed him to weather the attacks we sent with ease. The damn thing was a menace, tanking our hits and forcing us to constantly dodge.

Chesnaught Spiky Shield? Smash right into it. Superboy and Kaldur smashing him? Tank it with ease. Slowbro's various elemental powers? Red Tornado to send the pink cat flying.

Latias even had to pull back on her offense to help Chansey with the healing, as the pink Pokemon was getting exhausted. A tossed Rage Candy Bar helped pep her up.

Still I was starting to get angry. I didn't want to Mega-Evolve Slowbro or Latias, as I had no idea what would happen if Amazo copied them. I didn't want to use the beefier techniques of my Pokemon for the same reason. But at this rate, Amazo was going to kill one of us.

"It's useless you know."

I looked over at Ivo. He was smirking, clearly pleased about something. "I admit, your team has put up more of a fight than expected. But that is not a good thing."

"I doubt it." I said nonchalantly as I released Heatran at an angle. As my girl unleashed another Earth Power only for Amazo to ignore it, I made sure not to look like I was paying too much attention to Ivo.

But I was. Ivo was an arrogant super-scientist. Bad combination. If he was like most bad guys, any minute now…

"You see young man-"

Jackpot. _Thank you_ genre savviness.

"My Amazing Amazo may not be the smartest. But he is very good at raising his power level based on the threats he faces." Ivo chuckled. "And I'm afraid you all are making him quite paranoid."

Adaptive software. He wasn't just copying us, he was getting stronger based on how dangerous we were. So if we suddenly raised the threat level before he could adjust…

New info people. I said firmly as Ivo continued babbling behind me. Ivo told me Amazo gets stronger based on the level of enemies he's taking on. But we haven't revealed our full power. If we can get an opening, then I'll have Slowbro go Mega and blast Amazo, followed by our insurance. And if Amazo goes intangible to dodge that-

I finish him. The Teen of Steel managed to send even as Amazo sent him flying. Superboy had told us his plan, and M'gann had agreed that it would probably work. Probably.

Just in case, Chansey was on stand-by to heal him.

Here's hoping we can turn this disaster into an aster. Robin projected as he swung by me on a tether.

You will have your opening. Kaldur said with raw determination in his voice. Follow my direction.

While Aqualad was speaking to us, Chesnaught was going toe-to-toe with Amazo. His hands were up as the bear shuffled around the robot. Lashing out with fast, accurate jabs. Drain Punch wasn't working, so Chesnaught relied on his more brute strength moves and simple attacks learned from training with Ted. Still, the big guy was slowing down. Amazo had switched into Black Canary, and was pummeling the Grass Knight with both Canary Cry's and simple martial arts.

The bearlike Pokemon grit his teeth when metal knuckles nailed him in the chest, returning with a headbutt that sent the sound of wood on metal ringing in our ears. Amazo stepped back, then unleashed a Canary Cry. As I watched, fear struck my heart at the trails of cracks that began to form on Chesnaughts armor.

We struck when Chesnaught backed away.

Robin, Heatran, Latias, and Kaldur attacked first, sending a blast of water, several shuriken grenades and a Flash Cannon.

Latias made the biggest attack however. She floated high above the devastated gym floor and began to glow with an insane amount of power. Glowing purple orbs came to existence beside her, before tuning into something like massive black rocks glowing with red lines. Her eyes flashing white, my adorable dragon unleashed her attack.

 _"_ _Accessing: Flash."_ In a rush, Amazo dodged Kaldur and Heatran, before Latias' Draco Meteor attack struck. He couldn't dodge, and the floor where he stood became a crater as he weathered the attack.

M'gann and Jirachi struck next. They flew above Amazo and held their arms out. The two psychic's eyes glowed white as they grabbed Amazo in a telekinetic grip. He looked up at them as the forced him to stay in place, spreading him out with arms and legs wide.

 _"_ _Accessi-"_

"Nope!" Kid Flash ran in like a bullet, carrying two objects. One was an aluminum baseball bat, pilfered from the school. He wound up and smashed the bat under Amazo's chin, the bat shattering as it forced Amazo's mouth shut. As Kid Flash ran past, he threw up the other object into the air.

The object was a Pokeball. It opened in the air.

And the storm arrived. Rain began to fall from the ceiling above.

Zapdos. It was how Aqualad and M'gann had arrived alongside Kid Flash. I'd wanted to hold it back. The thought of Amazo gaining Zapdos' power was terrifying. But now was not the time to hold back.

The air crackled with the pressure of Zapdos' aura. It looked down at Amazo, eyes yellow, and released a scream of rage.

At the same time, I raised my hand. The stone on the bracelet on my wrist glowed. Slowbro smirked before he exploded into a cascade of lights.

 _"_ _Accessing: Superman."_ Amazo looked upwards and blasted out twin beams of red light.

Ahhhh! Latias and M'gann screamed when the beams hit them, sending them to the floor. Amazo turned the beams towards Zapdos.

It was too late. Slowbro finished transforming, balancing on his tail. And Zapdos had long since been ready. Both charged their attacks.

Zapdos, Thunder. Slowbro, Hyber Beam.

Slowbro opened his mouth, and power left his body. The wood floor in front of him turned to ash, and the stone beneath that shattered.

Zapdos spread his wings wide, and a bolt of electricity enveloped Amazo from the skies above, moments before Slowbro's attack smashed into the robot as well.

"My god." Ivo said behind me, staring at the explosive power before us.

 _"_ _A-Accessing,"_ Within the storm of white light and yellow electricity that was tearing him apart, Amazo's voice could barely be heard. _"_ _Martian Manhunter."_

Cut out the attack. Reluctantly, Slowbro and Zapdos stopped.

Standing in a massive crater, Amazo had lost portions of his outer armor, leaving shiny patches of silver. He stared at us emotionlessly, still intangible.

Superboy leaped into the air, coming down in front of the robot. He put his hand inside Amazo's head. And simply waited.

 _"_ _Accessing: Black Cana-"_

BOOM!

"Dayum!" I yelped.

Superboy was sent back once again. For a moment, the now headless Amazo stood there, making insanely wonder if he could function with a brain in his chest or something.

Then the robot crumbled.

M'gann groggily rose from where Chansey had been healing her. The pink Pokemon nudged her gently to get her attention, then nodded towards where Superboy was rising up. M'gann gasped, her pain forgotten, and flew over to him.

"Superboy, are you all right?"

"I think we all are." He noted, sounding a bit shell-shocked.

"Thanks to a pretty good idea on your part." I noted as I walked up. I kept a tight grip on Ivo, making damn sure to watch him. Even handcuffed, I couldn't be sure he wouldn't Macguyver his way into an escape.

Still, I did give Superboy a smile. "You did good man."

"We all did." Superboy smiled back at me, then looked over at Robin. "Turned this into an aster."

"Save me from all this self-congratulating." Ivo said grumpily.

"We will." Kid Flash sped over along with Jirachi. "But fiiiiiirst…"

We want a souvenir! Jirachi floated over to me, grinning. This was so cool!

Heatran barked as she joined us alongside the others, giving her own approval of what had went down, and Zapdos landed next to me to grumpily buzz at how brief its involvement in the battle was. Chesnaught said something rude, which prompted Latias and Chansey to hit him in the head, which got them a good natured grin.

And all the while, Superboy was smiling.

Ivo groaned as we began telling each other how cool we were.

"I hate superheroes."

 **PYJ**

 ** _August 4th, 12:45 AM_**

Later, we were gathered in the cave. Kaldur had just finished his report to Batman, Black Canary, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, and Red Tornado. I was standing between Superboy and Kid Flash, my Pokemon put away except for Latias, who floated above us.

"Good work on capturing Ivo." Black Canary declared, a certain warmth in her voice. "With him behind bars, we can at least be sure no more of his robots will be running around."

"Good, because one of those things was enough for a while." I declared with a grimace. Chansey and Latias had been to worn out to heal the rest of us, understandably, so we were left with our natural healing to go on.

"Yes. Things did seem to become… complicated, for you." J'onn said delicately.

We shared looks. Batman stepped forward. "Complications come with the job. Your ability to handle them has impressed the League."

"The _whole_ League?" Superboy's words almost broke my heart.

Batman didn't seem fazed. "Given time, yes. Kryptonians, as you know, have very hard heads."

Superboy smiled at that.

"Of course," Batman continued. "There's no shame in asking for help. That's why the League exists- because there are some problems even we can't handle individually."

None of us said a word. I think we all understood what he was saying afterall.

"Welp, I have a souvenir to take care of!" Kid Flash hefted a M.O.N.Q.U.I. head in his hand with a grin, the most intact one we'd found.

"Dude, that is just morbid." Robin teased as they walked off. "We already have an eye in there!"

As two argued good naturedly, I noticed Superboy walk over to Black Canary. Soon she called Batman over, and the three started talking in earnest.

In the meantime, I walked over to Green Arrow. "Can we talk?"

"Uh, sure?" Looking confused, he nodded.

I led him and Latias to the kitchen, where he sat down at a chair.

"So, whats up?" He asked casually.

"You weren't in Gotham, right?" I asked bluntly. When I got a cocked eyebrow, I nodded at Latias. "I checked with Latias."

While I did sense an unfamiliar mind during the fight, it doesn't match yours. She explained tiredly, still worn from the big battle.

"Well, no, I wasn't. Why?"

In response, I reached into my bag and pulled out an arrow. A green one. "Found this after the fight. Only noticed it thanks to Jirachi looking around for a souvenir."

I looked down at it. "Saved my life actually. Someone shot at Amazo right when he was going to pound me. Saved my life."

I passed it to the Emerald Archer, who took it in hand. "Hmm… this matches those arrows we've been finding all over Gotham."

"You find out who your mystery archer is yet?" I asked him.

"Yeah." He put the arrow down on the table. "Going to visit her later actually. Batman spoke with her mother, and she asked us to look after her. Let her join the team."

That… was not a surprise. And hell, archery on the team could be useful. My Pokemon may have been powerful on long range, but they weren't great at stealth.

You should meet her, Master. We both looked over at Latias. She smiled. She saved you right? You should say thank you!

I laughed at how happy that innocent thought made Latias, hugging her on reflex. "Yeah. Yeah, that might be nice." I looked over at Green Arrow as he watched Latias trill happily with an odd look on his face. "You think I can meet my possible teammate/rescuer?"

"…maybe." Green Arrow smiled. "Maybe."


	20. A Dream Is

**_August 4_** ** _th_** ** _, 03:02 PM, Gotham City_**

"Thanks." I said to my mentor as I walked around the Arrow's hideout, a cell phone in hand.

I say _a_ cell phone, because Zapdos' aura tended to destroy normal ones, and the one I was supposed to get soon was still being made. I was telling Wildcat I needed him to take care of something while I went to meet our new recruit, with Green Arrow nearby as we waited for Batman.

I turned off the phone and looked over at Green Arrow. "Ted says it's cool. He'll get everything together asap."

Green Arrow smirked. "How is the old guy anyways?"

"He punches like a mule on crack." I grinned at the archer as he chuckled. "By the way, what do you call your hideouts?"

I looked around. The place was kinda what I would have expected. Lots of weaponry, steel walls, concrete floors, and a couple of vehicles just cool enough to be a superheroes without standing out too much.

"They don't really have names actually." Green Arrow grimaced. "Though Barry and Hal keep calling them Arrowcaves."

"Heh!" I looked over at him. "Want a suggestion from another universe?" I got a hesitant, but curious nod. "Quiver."

"…That is pretty cool." He finally answered, a boyish grin on his face. "Who came up with that?"

"A blonde with twin pigtails and a love of violence and lunatics in bad suits."

Green Arrow pouting was a funny sight, though anyone could tell he was messing around.

I strode over to a set of bows on a stand. I didn't reach for them, trusting that I might be messing with some sort of rule if I did so without permission.

"I took some archery lessons. Back in my world I mean."

"Oh really?" The words of a master wondering if some novice was going to claim they were hot stuff.

"Nothing like you." I chuckled. "Just a few lessons. I really wanted to learn though. Be like one of my heroes."

"Me?" The boyish grin was back, with a bit of arrogance.

"No, Roy Harper." I turned and grinned at the pouting look on his face again. "Yes you. You had a badass TV show before I left. Got raving reviews. The fans love it to death, and Barry Allen had to spin off from it."

"Huh," Oliver Queen seemed to preen just a bit. "How about that?"

I choose to avoid the fact they had to copy the Batman Mythos to get those reviews.

"You know I could teach you?" I looked over at Green Arrow, who was rubbing his goatee thoughtfully. "If you'd like. Might be useful to know."

I thought about that seriously. Bow and arrows are actually a lot more useful for superheroes than guns in some ways. They are lethal, but not to the extent of guns. Their ammo can be made easily, which is useful in a business where a hero can often find themselves in random locations without the tools needed to make new bullets, batteries, or power cells.

Granted, if I actually needed a long range weapon, Heatran could use her Flash Cannon to pop an apple off a mannequins head. Though neither apple nor head had survived the experience.

"Maybe some time soon." I finally said.

"Have you read the files?"

I jumped, shocked at the sudden sound of Batman's voice as he came from the shadows. Green Arrow looked less surprised, though his fingers still tightened just a bit.

"Uh, yeah." I swallowed, facing the Dark Knight. "I read them."

"What do you know?" His voice let me know it wasn't the time to joke. He wasn't mean about it, just focused on business.

"Artemis Crock. She wasn't a big name in my universe. A villain actually. Took her mom's villain name. And no relationship with Chesire at all. Her being a vigilante is a big leap."

"That's quite a difference." Green Arrow noted as Batman walked towards the door, leaving us to follow.

"Not really. In another universe, you two are villains also. Hell, the whole league is."

We stepped out into an alley, where the Batmobile and a green motorcycle sat.

The Batmobile. Wow. Now that is an iconic vehicle. This version wasn't too stylized, more like a black sports car with some bat-like design elements, but still cool.

"You ride with me." Batman said simply.

Hell yeah!

 **PYJ**

I didn't have much time to enjoy the super-comfy seats and awesome tech of the vehicle before Batman began to speak.

"Superboy has told me you suggested that he should look for trainers other than Canary."

I looked over at him. His voice was neutral. So he probably wasn't angry, though hell if I could tell for sure.

The car started moving with barely a sound from the engine, before transitioning to no sound at all. The ride was so smooth that only a look outside told me we were moving.

"Yeah. I mean, Canary can teach him some cool stuff, no doubt, but he needs to get a handle on how strong he is. I know him and Chesnaught spar a lot, but having a really skilled super-strength user can only help him."

"And you suggested Wonder Woman?" He didn't look at me, but I could feel his attention nonetheless. "Not Superman?"

"…I know he's your friend. But… maybe that ship has sailed." I sighed. "I like Superman. He's one of my favorite superheroes, and one of my favorite people. But he hasn't had _any_ interaction with the team as a whole, let alone Superboy. We're supposed to be working as part of the League, but one of it's founding members does everything he can to ignore us. It ain't _right._ "

He didn't say a word.

"Maybe, someday, when all is said and done, Superman will be able to make amends, and I fully understand why he's acting this way. But right now, I think maybe letting Superboy learn under someone else is best." I shrugged. "Besides, I think one day Conner will end up a lot stronger than you think. The next generation has to be better than the last, right? Maybe learning from multiple people can be a part of that."

"…Conner?"

I laughed. "Oh, right. Uh, that's his name. In the other universes I mean. Conner Kent."

Batman didn't say a word more. He simply pulled into an alley.

 **PYJ**

We entered through the window. That was kind of weird. A woman was waiting for us, sitting in a wheelchair. She had short black hair, and looked pretty good for her age, with almond eyes and slight wrinkles at the corners of her mouth and eyes.

"Um, hi!" I said as I followed the older heroes, waving.

"Hello." The woman, Paula Crock nee Nguyen, cocked an eyebrow, wheeling closer to inspect me. Damn. Those eyes were intense. Wheelchair be damned, I could feel the asskicking experience emanating from her as clearly as I usually did from Ted Grant and Batman. "And who are you?"

"Trainer Red." I pulled my hood off and took off my hat. "But my real name is Mahmoud Schahed."

"Oh?" She smiled just a bit. "Your companions don't seem as eager to reveal their identities."

I looked up. Batman seemed a bit disapproving, while Green Arrow was simply watching the proceedings.

"Well, they have a lot more to lose than me." I blinked. "Uh, not in a whole, 'I have nothing to lose' kind of way. I'm pretty new to this universe, so I haven't exactly got a secret identity yet."

"…Hm." She turned away from me, rolling away confidently. "Come along. Artemis will be home soon."

"I can't wait to meet her." I followed her, with Batman and Green Arrow behind me. For some reason I felt like the two were interviewing me, as though my reactions here would be graded later.

"And why is that?" Paula spun around as I sat in her living room couch. Green Arrow sat as well, with Batman choosing to stay standing.

"He's a member of the Team we'd like her to join." Batman answered.

"And she saved my life." I added.

Something in her eyes seemed to untighten.

"I… see." She rolled towards the kitchen. "Let me get you something to drink."

It was a bit uncomfortable for me. Paula had lots of questions for us. What would the work entail? Would Artemis have time to continue her schooling? How dangerous was the job?

Because seriously, even with all her experience, or maybe because of it, every confirmation that all we could do was _limit_ how much danger Artemis would be in was clearly making Paula worried.

Batman and I answered most of the questions. Green Arrow answered the ones that had to do with funding. Paula, as a former villainess, knew full well that this business required resources. I shuddered to think of what I would have done without the League funding.

Green Arrow promised to train and supply Artemis out of his own pocket. If she ever had a late night, she could stay in the Cave, get a quick heal from Chansey (who was loving her role as overall team mom) and head to school the next day.

It was in the middle of this discussion that the door opened.

I looked up. My first thought was that she was pretty. I'm a guy, it's how I roll. And she really was. Long blonde hair, almond shaped grey eyes and olive skin like her mothers, and a great figure. She would be a real heartstopper when she grew up.

She was wearing a brown jacket over a white blouse and blue jeans, with a backpack slung over her shoulder. As she walked in, she looked us over.

The surprise on her face was pretty funny. Her mouth dropped open, and she stared at the three men sitting there with her mother.

"Batman… Green Arrow…" She looked over at me, eyes widening. "And you… you were-!"

"Five seconds away from death before you saved me." I smiled at her. "Thank you for that, by the way."

"Mom what did you do!?" Artemis's reaction was a surprise. Apparently she wasn't happy to see us.

"She didn't do anything." I said, lifting my hands up in a placating gesture. "We came because we want to make you an offer."

"The Justice League," Batman added. "Has formed a covert group of young heroes."

"Young?" She looked over at me. "Really?"

"I'm in my twenties damnit." I mumbled. "Why do people keep calling me old?"

"You get used to it." Green Arrow told me sympathetically.

Batman ignored us. "We'd like you to join the team."

Artemis stared at Batman in shock. She seemed a bit delighted as well.

"Yeah. You've already fit the prerequisite of saving a teammates ass afterall." I told her with a little chuckle.

"And we think you'd make a good, no, a _great_ addition to the team." Green Arrow stood and put a hand on Artemis's shoulder. He looked over at Paula. "As long you feel okay with this."

She didn't hesitate. I'd love to talk about why with her later. "You have my permission."

It was quiet. Artemis looked around, thinking.

"Listen, it's a big decision." I got off the couch, stepped forward. "If you need time to think about this-?"

"No." Artemis flashed me a smile. "No. I'll join. As long as you don't tell the team who I am… who my family is."

"Your private life is your business." Leave it to the Batman to be onboard with that. I might not be angry with him anymore, but I could still be exasperated."

"Not like you're the first hero with a secret identity." The Emerald Archer smirked. "We'll introduce you as my new protégé and my niece! Hey, we're both blond."

I winced. "Yeah, let's not. That brings too many questions doesn't it. Where did this sudden niece come from, where is your old sidekick, how much experience does she have…"

"You have a better idea?" Batman invited.

I thought about it. "The truth will set you free." I held up a hand to hold off Artemis's coming explosion. "Not the whole truth. But you being a skilled archer/acrobat, who was doing her own vigilante thing before she was taken under the wings of a more experienced hero sounds better than making up a fake niece story. Anyone who digs who find that as true. We don't have to bring in the jackass dad."

"…Yeah, that'll work." Green Arrow looked at Artemis. "So what do you think?"

She looked at me for a bit longer. Then at Green Arrow, her eyes turning into something fierce. "Yes."

It was a warm moment. I couldn't wait to introduce her to the team. Having more numbers was a bit strange, considering how many Pokemon I had, but more people meant big things in the hero world. Justice League Unlimited was pretty awesome after all.

"Okay, one last thing then." I reached to my waist for my pokeballs. With a florish, bright lights filled the room, and three eyes watched curiously as the beings within came out (Batman was probably just staring in case more information he could use would come up).

"Meet Jirachi,"

Hi! My little Steel/Psychic type chirped with a spin in the air.

"And Chansey."

"Chansey!" Chansey smiled happily, waving at the four before her.

"Wow, so I wasn't imagining things." Artemis said in a surprised tone as Jirachi landed on my head.

I adjusted my head to account for Jirachi's weight. "No you were not. I have a gift for you."

I leaned down in front of Chansey, who gave me a gentle look. "You ready for this?"

Her gentle look become something of an arrogant smirk. "Chans. Nsey?"

Which meant, "Please. Like that's even a question?"

She waddled over to Paula, who hadn't stopped staring in shock at the pair. She wheeled back slightly when Chansey came over to her.

"What, what is she doing?"

"Hey!" Artemis stepped between them, a fierce look on her face. "Back off blob!"

"That's rude." I noted.

"Who cares, what does it want?"

"To heal her."

I took a bit of joy in the gobsmacked look on their faces.

"…W-What do you-?"

"I didn't want to offer it as a trade or anything." I explained as Chansey calmly moved Artemis aside. "It's kind of sketchy. 'Join or we won't heal your mom.'" I said the last in my best Darth Vader voice, then shuddered. "No. So we decided to go for it once you'd decided. Either way."

"Can she do it?" Batman didn't flinch at the insulted look Chansey gave him. "I imagine the process is complicated."

"It is." I admitted. "So we came up with a plan."

Paula didn't move a muscle when Chansey stopped before her. My short cute pink blob held her hands out. Artemis stared, something between hope and fear in her eyes. Chansey's entire body began glow green, the light focused around her hands. Her Heal Pulse. She closed her eyes and slowly hummed, her tone moving up and down in pitch. Paula gasped as the light moved to surround her.

Pretty… Jirachi said. I winced when she accidently pulled my hair (I'd forgotten to put my hat and hood back on. Oh, sorry master.

The first minute was fascinating. Soon however, it was just Chansey and Paula glowing. It wasn't long before Chansey stopped and stepped back.

"Did it work?" Artemis asked eagerly.

"No." My answer made her slump, and I hurriedly continued speaking. "We're not done yet. Paula how do you feel?"

Paula twisted her hands around as the glow faded, then looked down at her legs hopefully, I assume to try and move them. Chansey tapped her knee with a hand. When Paula looked at her, Chansey smiled, then looked at me.

More specifically at the top of my head.

"Chansey."

My turn! Jirachi rose off my head to float across the room to Paula, and sat carelessly in the woman's lap. Okay. Just stand still. And wish.

"…wish?" Green Arrow, Artemis, and Paula said in unison. They turned to look at me.

"Yeah." I nodded at Jirachi. "She's known as the Wish-Maker in my world. One of the most powerful psychics in known history, able to shape reality at her whim. All she needs is the strength of a wish."

Mmm. Jirachi nodded happily. Wishes have an effect on reality. When someone wants something, really _really_ wants it, and their wish is good, sometimes it comes true.

At this point I was fairly sure both Paula and Artemis thought they'd hit their heads. Green Arrow was disbelieving as well. I'll be honest, I kind of was too at first.

But I was living in the DC Universe. Somewhere in the stars above, Larfleeze and Saint Walker were around. Hope and Avarice. Two different versions of the same thing when you thing about it. The wish of life for something more than what you have.

If they existed, why couldn't Jirachi's Wish?

Come on! Jirachi reached her small hands out and lifted Paula's towards her eyes. You have to wish! You too Artemis!

"This is the most ridiculous thing that has ever happened to me." Artemis said in disbelief.

"This will work." Artemis looked over at me. "Believe me, I know it seems weird. But we've gone over this for a long time. You just need to let yourself believe."

It was something we'd tested. Chansey and Jirachi's healing was powerful. But unlike Chansey Jirachi could reverse old injuries, like scars and former fractures.

This made her healing very different in use from Chansey's. For example, when I was training, Chansey's healing only pushed the healing of my muscles along. Therefore rather than slowly tearing my muscles apart and building them up over months, I could speed the process up into weeks.

But Jirachi would simply heal me into the state I'd been before I worked out. I would no longer be in pain, but all my work would go to waste. All my muscles would simply heal back in the state they'd been before my workout, rather than healing stronger than before.

On the other hand, Jirachi's healing was powered by wishes. So let's say you have a scar on your face that you dream of having removed. Or a tattoo you regret heavily.

Chansey couldn't do anything to them because they were technically healed, while Jirachi could wipe those away like she was an orange haired big breasted high schooler (That's a Bleach reference). But if you kind of liked the scar, or loved that tattoo, then Jirachi couldn't do anything to it.

But bigger wounds required a lot more focus, and a lot more energy from both Jirachi and the person being healed. Jirachi had to use spiritual energy from the target of her healing as a 'map' for what was being done (As far as the STARLabs people had been able to explain it anyways). That's why Chansey had healed Paula first, to remove the chance any other wounds would pull attention away from Paula's spine, and give Paula extra energy to support it.

Artemis was still giving me a look, like she was considering what I was saying. Then she looked at Jirachi.

Un! Jirachi nodded at Artemis, smiling cutely as she sat in Paula's lap.

When she felt someone touch her hand, Artemis looked down. Chansey patted her hand and gave her a kind nod. "Chans."

Artemis sighed, then closed her eyes. Paula did as well. Then Jirachi. It was quiet after that. We all stood there, watching.

"How long does this usually take?" Green Arrow mumbled quietly to me.

"Longer for more serious injuries." I said softly. "Jirachi is just collecting energy. When it happens-."

Jirachi rose into the air. Artemis and Paula still had their eyes closed as Jirachi began to glow with white light. Slowly, the line on her small belly began to open.

"Is…that?" Green Arrow asked, shocked.

"Interesting." Batman noted.

On Jirachi's belly, an eye began to open. It widened, and the air began to fill with power. We stared as a group as the glow about her thickened. Unlike her other eyes, with were the color of a starry night, her third eye had baby blue pupil and iris in the center with a sclera the shade of a yellow flower.

Paula gasped. Energy began to flow around her, white, blues, reds, yellows, spinning until we couldn't see her, turning into an orb of energy. Like… a Mega Evolution?

Then the orb popped, with a rush of air that sent the furniture skidding a few feet, and the rest of us back a step.

"Mom!" Artemis screamed, trying to rush forward before Green Arrow stopped her.

"Wait!" I yelled out, holding my hands out. "Just…"

I stopped. Jirachi floated down as the lights that had filled the room slowly faded. Chansey stepped forward to catch Jirachi, and I kneeled down to join them.

"You okay?" I asked my tiny Pokemon.

Muh… Sleepy. Jirachi snuggled into Chansey, and was soon napping against her soft form.

"Chansey." The pink healer sighed in relief, and we shared a little chuckle.

"Mom?" Artemis stepped around us to walk towards her mother.

Paula was sitting on a pile of ash, blinking slowly. Her wheelchair had disappeared. She reached down towards it, then lifted a pinch up.

"Is this… my wheelchair?"

"…Yep." I said helplessly.

That was one other side-effect of Jirachi's healing. Random things that might pop up because of it. One more reason STARLabs preferred recreating potions rather than sending me all over the place healing people.

"Mom you look…" Artemis leaned down to look her mom in the face, concerned. "Different?"

Paula's face had lost a few wrinkles. Not enough to make her look younger in a massive sense, but enough that she looked more like a woman just starting a career rather than someone who had been a mother for decades. Her skin was smoother, eyes a bit brighter. And from how she was moving, a few extra pounds had been either removed or changed into firm muscle.

"Yeah, it's kinda trippy." Green Arrow said, still sounding a bit shell-shocked.

"Healed." They looked at me. "She's healed. Even further than with Chansey. She isn't younger or anything, but she'll live a lot longer than most woman her age. It's a side effect. I guess you both were wishing for her to be 'healed', not necessarily to focus that on her spine. You probably wanted the wheelchair to no longer be needed, and well…" I gestured to the ashes.

"Now the final verdict however." Batman attracted all of our attention. "Can you stand?"

Artemis snapped her eyes to look at her mother. We all held our breaths.

Paula stared at her legs, clad in pajama bottoms with simple slippers on her feet. Nothing. She looked crestfallen.

"You aren't used to sending signals to your legs anymore." I whispered, almost as though talking to loudly would ruin the moment. "You probably ignored them for the sake of not reminding yourself of the fact you couldn't…" I stopped, then continued imploringly. "Try again. Focus."

Something of the warrior she once had been flashed in Paula's eyes. She stared harder at her foot.

Her left leg curled inwards.

Artemis broke down crying, a wide smile on her face, and rushed forward to hug her mother.

Green Arrow whooped, smacking Batman on the shoulder in his exuberance. It was a mark of Batman's respect for the moment that he didn't comment.

Me, I just smiled and looked at my Pokemon. Chansey smiled back, then looked down at the still sleeping Jirachi in her arms.


	21. Zero to Hero

**_This Arc Is For Patricia_** **  
** ** _  
August 4th, 4:05 PM, Gotham City_**

I think the three of us men knew on some level they needed a bit of time to celebrate. Once we had Paula on the couch, Batman took the lead.

"You should have a doctor look you over. They can confirm how the healing went, and help you decide what rehabilitation would be best for you." He reached into a belt and slipped out a business card. "This is a woman who works in Gotham. She'll be able to help you."

"I have doctors." Paula said as she took the card.

"Yes. And I have mine."

'Nuff said. When the **Batman** gives you a business card, you take that person on the card as trustworthy.

Except, I was pretty sure the doctor in question was Leslie Thompkins. As I stood in that small room with Chansey next to me, I thought about that for a moment. Leslie had been a good person. A kind of girlfriend to Alfred, a solid doctor, someone who was well-loved by the Bat-family.

Until she let one of them die to prove a point.

And I know, retcons came into place and all. But even so-

Chansey tugged my jacket. I looked down to see her motion at my watch. "Chansey." She said pointedly.

"Oh shit, yeah." The others in the room looked over at me. "Sorry, I have to go. I got invited somewhere."

"Where to?" Green Arrow asked curiously as I headed for the door.

"Can't tell you!" I called back. "If you need me, call Diana! Thanks having me Paula!"

I rushed out with Chansey alongside me, shutting the door to the apartment behind me before anyone could say a word. As I ran through the beat up hallway, a quick thumb at my belt put Chansey back in her ball, the pink nurse giving me an encouraging smile before she collapsed into energy.

I rushed outside, pulled out my Eon Flute, and blew into it. Then I was off into the sky on Latias' back.

 **PYJ**

 ** _Happy Harbor, Mount Justice_**

You're late. Latias said with a pout as we came down towards Mount Justice.

I know. I thought back to her. But I did something good today. Did she say why she wanted me today?

No, Latias sounded as confused as I was. Just that you had a test.

Huh. Before leaving to Gotham, Wonder Woman had called to ask me to meet her at the caves Zeta-tubes. Apparently she wanted me to go somewhere with her. I had no idea why, but apparently someone wanted to meet me.

As we flew, I saw someone floating higher above the mountain. A silent nudge to Latias over our link brought her attention to the figure, and she moved to meet the figure.

As I came closer, I started to feel like a kid meeting his mom after school. It was dumb. Wonder Woman was not my mom, and really I had no obligations to her except as a superior.

Didn't stop me from feeling that way as Latias carried me over to the super-heroine. She had her arms crossed, but was smiling.

"You're late." She said, slightly disapproving.

"For a good cause." I told her honestly. "I had to help someone."

"I know." She gave me a proud smile that made me feel ridiculously good about myself. "Batman told me while you flew here."

"Heh." I smiled goofily as Latias gave me a warm look. "So, uh, what's up? You called kind of last minute."

"Yes, I apologize." I blinked. She sounded… nervous? Well, not quite, but more like she was worried. "I was asked to bring you somewhere."

Where? Latias came forward to nudge Diana, a worried look on her cute face. Are you okay Diana?

"Yes little one." Diana patted Latias gently, smoothing back her feathers. She looked at me seriously. "Red… No, Mahmoud. What do you know of the Olympians?"

Oh shit.

"I uh… a lot. I used to love studying Greek Mythology. Though I guess here its history."

"Indeed." Diana floated in front of us, the wind rushing past us, and came forward to put a hand on my shoulder. "Do you trust me Mahmoud?"

I looked into her eyes, a cold feeling in my stomach. Even so, my answer was easy.

"Diana, you know I trust you." Of all the people in this universe, Diana was the only person other than my Pokemon I trusted one hundred percent. I knew she'd never lie to me. Granted, she'd never lie period, but that went a long way to getting my faith.

So why even ask?

"What's going on?" I said, confused and a bit anxious myself.

"I've been asked to bring to meet them. Apparently you've piqued their curiosity."

…Fudgenipples.

"The Olympians. You're saying the Olympians want to meet me?"

"Only a few of them, and only to prove yourself, if you wish." Diana sighed. "I don't know why. You haven't done anything to my knowledge to anger them."

That was for sure. The idea that one of the greater powers of the DC universe wanted to meet me was beyond crazy. The Olympians were **dangerous**. I felt a whole lot more confident in myself these days, but even with my Pokemon and the Team backing me up, I knew I had no chance of facing that much power.

"Prove myself how? Why?"

"I wasn't told." Diana placed her other hand on my shoulder as well. "But I will be with you, should you choose to go. And if not, I will defend you. All I was told was to have you follow me to the meeting place."

…Master? What will you do? Latias craned her head back to look at me from the corner of her eye.

"I don't… Man, I'm **Muslim**. This is weird on many levels." Scratching my head, I looked over at Diana. "What do you think?"

She placed a hand to her chin, humming in thought. "It is an honor, to have the attention of the gods." She ignored the way I winced at the word 'gods'. "That said, they would require you to show them the utmost respect. And I will be with you. While I won't do anything to directly interfere, as long as you act as a good guest, I _will_ defend you if you somehow accidentally incite their wrath."

Had to love Wonder Woman. She may have worshiped them, but she knew full well how fickle the Olympians could be, and still planned on protecting me if need be.

"Anything you can tell me? Who exactly wants me, what I did to get their interest?"

"No." She shook her head. "Hermes only told me to have you meet them. And to bring all your weapons."

"…Can I bring a friend or two?"

"I," Diana blinked, surprised. "I suppose so. Who?"

 **PYJ**

Moments later I was walking into the cave and strode up to the only ones there. One was watching static, while the other was going over some notes from our tactics lesson on a table nearby. "Hey Kaldur, Superboy. You guys want to meet the Olympians?"

The blank stares I got in response would have made me smile any other time. Right then though, I was staying calm.

The Olympians were asking for me. Time to find out why.

 **PYJ**

 ** _August 4th, 5:05, Washington DC_**

In a back alley of Washington DC, a yellow light shone out as a wall slid aside.

"So I figure having muscle can't hurt." The Zeta-Tube closed behind the three of us while I continued to speak. "Latias went ahead with Diana. Between my Pokemon, you two, and Diana, I figure we can run if anything goes wrong."

"…Run?" Superboy was wearing his civilian clothes, his normal shirt turned inside out and a brown jacket on top.

"I agree." Kaldur, who was wearing sandals, a blue zipped up jacket and sweat pants, put a hand on Superboy's shoulder as he explained. "Superboy, the gods are an incredible force of nature. I would not wish to anger them. And if they are choosing to, as Red has said, have him 'prove' himself, taking every precaution means being ready to run."

"Okay, seriously, I think I should have brought a Q'uran with me." I groused, pulling my bag closer. Like the others I was wearing civilian clothes, my Pokeballs and uniform in my bag, as well as Kaldur's weapons and some tools. "How the hell am I going to deal with this? I've spent most of my life thinking of these guys as just another species, but I can't tell them that!"

Kaldur looked over at me sympathetically as we left the dark alley to join those strolling on the sidewalk. "I understand your issues. I've never met Neptune, and now I might be meeting Poseidon."

"Aren't they the same?" Superboy asked. Some guy with huge shoulders tried to bump him aside as we walked down the sidewalk. Superboy sent the guy sprawling without paying attention. "Poseidon became Neptune when the Romans rose."

Kaldur and I shared a look. "Well, it's complicated." I said with a shrug. "But just think of them as two different people with some similarities. In fact, probably better to treat _all_ of the Pantheons that way. Norse, Japanese, Mayan, Egyptian. Lets not make comparisons. Let's just be polite, and hope the most they want is for me to not be a jerk. But if 'proving' myself," I made air quotes with my fingers. "Means punching something, I have you two, Chesnaught, and Wonder Woman to do it for me."

"Hmm." The Clone smiled a bit, seemingly happy at the prospect. "So why do they want you?"

"My Pokemon." We turned up a street, and I took a moment to admire the Washington Monument sprouting up like a massive white phallic symbol in the distance. America for the win. Eiffel who?

"You think they gained the attention of-?" Kaldur stopped himself. "Yes, that does make sense. Why now however?"

"I don't know." I sighed. "In my world, the universe my Pokemon and me come from, Legendaries like Zapdos, Heatran, and Jirachi, they were fundamental parts of existence. There could be multiple versions of them, but at the end of the day a trainer who had gained their trust was something to be feared. They can change the balance of the world, turn a losing battle into a winning one. Almost no normal Pokemon can match them without a trainer to guide them."

"They sound like the gods." Superboy said. I sighed at that.

"Man, every time someone says 'gods' I feel strange, like I'm committing secondhand blasphemy…" Shudders went through me. "Oh Allah, I'm just going to talk to them. They are dimensional beings to me."

"And now I feel strange as well." Kaldur noted, looking as uncomfortable as I was.

"Not me." Superboy shrugged. "They didn't talk a lot about religion in Cadmus."

"Oh yeah." I hadn't thought of that.

I didn't say anything for a bit while we turned to walk down another street to where we were supposed to meet Diana.

We stopped in front of the Library of Congress. The building was massive, with a few columns, and a large green dome with a small tower popping out of the top. I resisted the urge to run in and see about getting my reading on, and looked over at Superboy. I kept my voice low in case someone was listening in. "I can… tell you about Kryptonian religion? Or Kaldur and I can tell you about ours? Not to convert you or anything."

"You are familiar with Kryptonian religions?" Kaldur cocked an eyebrow. "How?"

"That's… classified." Superboy and Kaldur both looked unconvinced. I scratched the top of my head, sighing as we stood in front of the building. "Trust me, I can't tell you how I know. But I have a lot of info on Krypton. I can tell you some stuff?"

Superboy frowned. "What would be the point?"

Huh. Good question. "Not much of one I guess, you seem to be doing fine without it. A real die-hard dude would be warning you about heaven and hell or something. But religion is complicated really. Lots of people have a different idea about it, similar to politics or general philosophy."

Not to mention I knew for a fact that this universe had multiple afterlives, some of them with revolving doors. Who was I to try and push Superboy in any one direction, especially considering I wasn't the best Muslim in the world? Some people are okay without religion, some looks for answers in it, and some just believe something is out there without wishing to put a name or rules to it. As long as they don't try to hurt people because of their beliefs, mentally or physically, I was fine with the 'live and let live' philosophy.

"I guess I'm just letting you know I'm here if you have questions." Was my final word on the matter.

"We both are." Kaldur smiled kindly at Superboy. "We will not push you, and whatever your choice is, we will support it."

"…Thanks." Superboy looked over at me. "You said, earlier. That Wonder Woman might be able to train me?"

"Huh?" I thought back for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, if she decides to. She's one of the best fighters on the planet. And she has experience fighting guys and girls as strong as or stronger than her."

"You think I should ask?" He looked anxious. Nervous. I think he was trying not to get his hopes up, but on some level he was excited at the prospect of growing stronger. "Because Canary said she'd help me no matter what, and Batman said to ask her myself."

"It would be worth the chance." Kaldur responded. "When I first agreed to be Aquaman's partner, I had no idea how it would go. But I have learned more fighting by my king's side than I ever could in the classroom. A good mentor can teach you more than decades of learning in a school."

Superboy looked down at the ground. Then he lifted his right hand up and slowly clenched his fist. His next words carried a lot more emotion than three words should have. "A good mentor…"

Easy to tell where that was coming from. On some level, we all knew who Superboy wanted as a teacher. And maybe someday that would be possible. But right now, he was a superhero. And a superhero who isn't constantly improving will die.

You know, barring any plot armor.

"Training with Ted is one of the best things to ever happen to me." Superboy looked up at me. "He's not a Pokemon Trainer like me. But he has a lot of lessons to teach. And Batman has given Kaldur, Chesnaught, and me a lot of lessons in tactical fighting."

Superboy seemed to think about that. "I'll ask her." He finally said. "After this. I'll ask if she can teach me."

Right on cue, a woman walked up to us, coming down the steps of the Library. She was about a head shorter than me, a bit overweight but in a comfortable way. Her bliue eyes sparkled merrily under brown hair cut into a pixie cut. She looked pretty but approachable, the kind of person who loved a good time with friends.

"Mahmoud Schahed?" She asked brightly.

Looking over at her, Superboy and Aqualad took spots behind me on either side. "Yeah." I said simply.

"Nice to meet you." She extended a hand for me to shake, which I did. "I'm Etta Candy. Diana sent me to meet you. Her and Bianca."

The last name made me relax. "Oh, good. Where will we be going?"

Etta's smiled widened. "Just follow me! A room in the Library has been set aside for you."

She turned to go up the steps. As we followed, Kaldur leaned in to whisper to me. "Who is Bianca?"

"Latias." I answered. "It's a name I told her to use when she needs it. Based on an old story."

We entered the doors of the Library. If you've never been in the Library of Congress, I recommend it for the décor alone. The inside of the place is amazingly beautiful. It's open to the public, thought only high ranking government types can borrow books, so anyone can go in.

The one we entered at least. There are three Library of Congress buildings. The one we entered, the Thomas Jefferson Building, is the one that people usually think of. At a guess I'd say it was in a different location than the one in my home universe, as the various monuments of Washington DC were within sight of it, but it looked the same as the one I'd been to on a field trip as kid. Beautiful murals on the ceilings and walls, cool statues, and everything having that smell only well maintained libraries can have, like new paper. It was like a museum full of books.

Heaven for guys like me, who love both museums and books

Etta led us to a door that entered into a corridor with several offices, all with wooden doors and opaque windows that had plaques underneath with the names of the offices owners on them. As I followed, with Aqualad and Superboy looking around as curiously as I was, I thought about what I knew of Etta Candy.

Best friend of Wonder Woman. A tough woman who also really kind, loud, and all-around pretty cool. Sometimes married to Steve Trevor, depending on the universe. Sometimes a good fighter. Always a good friend.

She brought us to a door again. A weird door. Unlike the others, this one was a pale white. It looked like it was carved from stone, marble or something. Two small pillars were imbedded in the wall beside it.

"They just put it in." Etta said. For the first time she sounded a bit annoyed. "Apparently they wanted a place of their own to speak to you."

"Wait." Superboy blinked. "The Olympians made this door?"

Etta chuckled. She reached for the handle, which was a bright blue that seemed to glow softly. She opened the door.

The three of us stared into the room.

"Huh." I said quietly. "I wonder what the zoning board would think. This has to be breaking so many regulations."

"Don't get me started." Etta groused.

Before us was a massive room, as large as the Library itself. The door opened into a courtyard with floors that could have been made of solid gold. Sunken in the center was a circular pool of water the size of a large pond, maybe thirty feet in diameter. There were large pillars spaced out around the pool, matching ones on the outer perimeter of the room itself. And the walls were made of stars.

I don't know how else to explain it. Somehow I knew, deep in my souls, that the bright spots in the blackness of the walls **were** stars, ones the size of coins, dinner plates, and tables. Shrunken down galaxies and solar systems, now used as decoration. Maybe new ones, maybe real ones. But they were enough to illuminate the room.

Latias had been floating over the pool, staring at her reflection. She looked up when the door opened and smiled nervously, looking at the other occupants.

Wonder Woman turned as well, and gestured for me to enter with a wave. In front of her stood a man. A big one, maybe a foot taller than Batman or even Martian Manhunter, and massively muscular in a way that was somehow more majestic than anything.

His hair was long and grey, with a beard of the same color. He watched the three of us enter with his bright blue eyes, a stern expression on his face. He wore a simple toga and sandals.

But standing front of him, I felt a massive pressure weighing down on me. As if the air itself was trying to force me to bow in front of his majesty. It was an awe-inspiring feeling. Somehow I knew that beneath this simple form, a great amount of power, enough to turn me to ash, dwelled.

I was used to that feeling. Anyone who'd spent time with Zapdos had felt it.

Etta allowed us to enter, then closed the door behind Superboy, leaving us there.

Zeus, the Ruler of Olympus, glared. And I knew my day was going south.


	22. Big Greek Meeting

**_Unknown Timezone_**

"Mahmoud, Kaldur, Superboy." Diana gestured once more for us to step forward. "We are waiting for the others, but it is good you are here." She turned to Zeus. "My lord Zeus. This is Kaldur'ahm, also known as Aqualad. An Atlantean, the protégé and partner of King Orin."

"An honor, Lord Zeus." Kaldur said, placing a fist to his right pectoral and bowing his head respectfully.

"Superboy, a hero of Earth."

The Teen of Steel didn't salute, but he did nod slightly.

"And your _guest,_ " I didn't miss the subtle way she added the last. "Mahmoud Schahed, also known as Trainer Red. Also a hero of Earth, and protégé to Ted Grant, who we have spoken of."

Man, Ted was going to flip when he found out Zeus knows his name.

 **"** **Yes,"** Zeus started to say. I winced in pain from the booming echo of his voice, Superboy and Kaldur lifting hands to their ears. He frowned, tapped his throat, and continued. "Yes, I know of him." Though still booming, his voice was now only on the edge of being painful.

"Right, uh, nice to meet you." I said, still rubbing my ears.

"Hmm." The Olympian glared at me. "That remains to be seen."

He turned away to stride towards one of a few marble chairs, specifically one made of the same golden material as the floor.

"Ominous." I mumbled in a sing-song tone. Despite the lightness of my tone, that was really unnerving.

"Indeed." Kaldur whispered.

"He feels like Zapdos." Superboy added. "But… more. A lot more."

Diana looked at the King of Olympus. "One might say Zapdos feels like him." She turned towards me. "Please, be careful. Whatever the gods want you for, any sign of disrespect… and there is nothing any of you can do but try to run."

Boy did I know it. In Greek Mythology, Zeus didn't need to use lightning to kill you. All he had to do was change into his true form. Diana could probably survive that. Conner and Kaldur were much softer maybes. But I was definitely dead.

Mugyuu. Latias floated over to me, nudged her head under my arm. Are we going to be okay Master?

I looked over at Zeus. He looked bored now. But even the most berserk mortal warrior screaming his head off and soaked in blood can't be as intense as Zeus at rest. Not even close.

Latias, link us up. I ordered her tensely.

Just like that, four other minds were pressed to mine. My practice with M'gaan, Jirachi, Latias, and Slowbro had lead me to be pretty good at the whole thought-speech thing, so I could easily discern which mind was which, and focus on them in turn.

Diana, did you find out anything else?

A prophecy. Diana said grimly, her mind shining with a warm love and light within the link. I have not heard it, but I know you are required because of it.

Oy, prophecies? What am I, Percy Jackson?

Well, that explains it. I rubbed Latias chin, getting a pleased cooing noise from my jet-dragon. Okay, then. I guess we just relax, and try to keep calm. But stay on our toes.

Agreed. The three of them said in unison.

Keep the link up. Kaldur ordered, before looking at Diana in chagrin. Apoligies ma'am. I believe you are in command here.

She gave him an understanding nod.

Then the door opened once more. We turned to see who was coming next. Zeus didn't move, but I could feel his presence, that sense of **power** sharpen.

I tried not to shiver. I cannot explain how much Zeus had shaken me. It wasn't his immense stature, it wasn't his history. It was the fact that when he looked at me, all I wanted to do was fight. His power was one that forced mortals to bow, and every part of me was screaming that I would never do it. I'd never felt that way. Not anger, but sheer defiance before a powerful being.

I'd been scared of Bane. Wary of Amazo. And now, faced with Zeus, I was both terrified, and trying not to spit just to prove I would not bow to him.

As that thought ran through me, the marble door slid open without a sound, and a man and woman entered.

Wait just a woman. What did the man matter? He was ugly anyways. The woman though… Perfection. Her long blonde hair down her back and across her face in a way that managed to make me want nothing more than to run my fingers through it, the delicate way her lips curved upwards so that all I wanted was to feel them pressed to my own, the smooth pale skin underneath a tantalizingly thin pink cloth that wrapped around her in ways that screamed for me to pull it aside and take in my arms, those bright eyes of some undesirable color I wanted to stare into for eternity. She was perfection, divinity-

My mind snapped. Suddenly Latias was at my side, and I could feel a part of me recoiling in horror. Divinity!? What the fuck!?

"Ah, I'm sorry!" For a moment I was pulled back into a trance, the voice of pure beauty that I wanted nothing more than to hear for a moment longer making me feel… like I was about to propose.

Then Latias was in my mind, her warm presence clearing my thoughts. I looked at the woman again. Still beautiful. Amazingly so. But now I could look at her without acting like I was about to lose my mind.

She stepped around the short man she'd come in with, a regretful look on her face. "I wasn't expecting mortals to be here yet." She explained hurriedly. "Are you three all right?"

Conner growled, holding a hand to his head. Kaldur seemed better off, but still dumbstruck. I felt a hint of relief I wasn't the only one who'd been affected.

Diana sighed, but still managed a smile as she bowed to the woman. "My Lady Aphrodite, it is a pleasure to see you again."

The Olympian of Love smiled brilliantly, and came forward to wrap Diana in a hug, ignored the surprised gasp Wonder Woman gave her.

"Oh Diana, it's been so long!" She giggled, pulling back to smile at the still shocked, but pleased, Diana. "I wish I could visit more often, but I'm always happy to hear you're doing well."

"Don't smother the woman." A voice grumbled. The man, who I'd ignored entirely, walked forward, limping heavily as he went. He was wearing nothing but a blacksmith apron, solid looking pants of the same material as his apron, and thick boots with a steel over the toes. The top of his head was bald, and he wore a white beard even bigger than Zeus'. He was muscular too, but misshapen somehow, as though his limbs weren't entirely the same length. Even with his beard, his face was clearly as off as the rest of his body, one eye higher than the other, a nose that had been broken and hadn't set, and cheekbones that were diagonal of each other..

He wasn't horrific or anything. But next to Aphrodite, he seemed more like movie monster than a man.

Then again, she probably made anyone look that way. Except Diana, who was even more gorgeous in her presence.

"Let me see it." He said gruffly.

"Hephaestus-!" Aphrodite protested, frowning at his rudeness.

"We're not married anymore, Dite." His manner, merely gruff before, became something far colder. He glared at the tall, leggy blonde. "Let me go about my business, and you can go about yours. Just like you wanted."

Damn. Someone call Elsa and tell her to cut it out, because this room is frozen.

Aphrodite seemed to shrink in on herself. Latias pressed to my side, and I felt the urge to comfort the blonde bombshell lessen to human levels. A closer look revealed she was more angry than sad however, and that was enough to make me place one hand against my pack, and for Latias to raise her head warily.

Hephaestus didn't seem to give a damn, only turning back to Diana, who looked saddened as well. "Come on Princess."

Diana sighed, then reached for belt. She unlatched the Lasso at her side, then handed it to him.

The Olympian of Smithing took it, his hands a lot defter than I would have believed at first look since they looked like they'd all been broken and reset wrong at some point. I no longer felt anything more than a hint of nervousness around the Lasso, but I still watched it warily as Hephaestus ran the gold rope through his fingers.

(Honestly though, I was getting exhausted of being wary. Between Zeus, the mind-whammy Aphrodite had hit me with, and the reappearance of the Lasso, I was starting to understand why Ted made me train so hard under stress.)

Humming and hawing for a bit, Diana watching with a hint of amusement, Hephaestus looked over the Lasso. Finally he handed it back to her, looking satisfied.

"You took good care of it." His voice sounded more respectful, grudgingly so.

"It was a wonderful gift." She said earnestly, looking down at him happily.

Hephaestus blushed. It was scary as hell, and not at all endearing except for the fact it meant he was less mean looking as when he scowled.

That said, him acting like a blushing schoolkid in front of a pretty girl was kind of funny.

"And you're the one we're here for?" Aphrodite was standing in front of Superboy, looking down at him curiously from her statuesque height. "Handsome one, aren't you?"

For his part, Superboy cocked an eyebrow, looking more like Spock than anything. "No. I'm Superboy." He pointed over at me. " _He's_ Red."

Aphrodite put her full attention where Superboy pointed, then at Latias floating protectively nearby, before looking back at me. "Hmm. A beard."

Blinking at the fact that was apparently her first choice of words, I nodded. "Yep."

"I'd assumed they were no longer in style for young men." She sighed, placing a hand to her cheek. "Standards for beauty change so fast. Even the goddess of it can't keep up sometimes."

"Still," She smirked playfully. "It does work for you. A very, 'historic leader' sort of look."

I blushed at that, in a most manly way of course. Latias floated over me, her eyes narrowed. Aphrodite looked at her again, then smiled and held out her hand. "Peace little one. Your love for your master is admirable, but I will not harm him."

Latias seemed to calm a bit, but still stared at Aphrodite.

"Excuse me." Hephaestus' pulled my attention towards him. "I didn't come here for whatever prophecy crap is going on." He cracked his neck idly. "I came to see a Pokeball."

Wait, what?

"How do you know about that?" My voice came out a bit suspicious, and Kaldur and Diana looked surprised.

"I have a student at STARLabs." The short man smiled at our flabbergasted expressions. "Anyways, the compression tech seems like it would be useful for storing energy, or items. If I had a couple, or just one, I'd trade you for something else."

It took a moment for the implications to hit me. A Pokeball. For something made by **Hephaestus.** The guy who made an invisible plane, weapons once used by Greek heroes, and the fucking Lasso!

I tried to hold in a squeal.

Kaldur placed a hand on my shoulder, looking as excited as I felt, but holding it better. "What sort of thing?" He asked curiously.

Hephaestus gave us a smug look. "Depends. You want a sword? I have a few that can cut through solid steel. Or a shield that can block any attack for you? Or jewelry to impress a lover?" He cast an eye towards Aphrodite, who was looking over us with an interested eye. "Mind you, the results will vary on the last one."

The Olympian beauty simply smiled, no longer affected by her former husband's barbs. Apparently she'd allowed that earlier cold comment to affect her

I ignored that bit of interplay. Honestly, you shouldn't deal with a family as dysfunctional as the Olympians without expecting some tension.

More important was what my Pokeballs would be worth trading for. I had tons of them, any trainer had to. And in all flavors, from the standard model, ones meant to work on bug or water types, and even three Master Balls, the pinnacle of Pokeball technology, something I assumed was a holdover of my tendency to save them 'just in case'.

Seeing me think, Hephaestus walked towards a corner of the room, gesturing for me to follow. He didn't look back. But suddenly, a feeling of _fire_ filled the air. A heat, warm and strong, that seemed to convey that his invite was only for me.

A look at Diana and Kaldur got me reassuring nods. Latias gave me a concerned look, but seemed ready to let me go. She did glare at Aphrodite, who seemed more pleased than scared by my Pokemon's loyalty.

Superboy looked bored.

I walked with the Smith to the other side of the room, on the right side. He turned around and grunted. "Okay boy. I don't have time to haggle right now. The other gods are coming, and I want to get this done before Ares gets here."

"Who exactly is coming?" I asked curiously.

He grunted again, apparently his standard grumpy response. "The Twelve. And later, because they apparently have work they want to do before they come, two more. One of the islanders. And a representative of the Green. There would be more, but we've got to move fast."

So all the Olympians for sure. A Hawaiian being maybe? And a rep for the Green? Why the last two?

The only Hawaiian I knew had a relationship with the same realm as the Olympians were Kane Milohai and Pele, both of whom I'd liked in DC Comics. And the Green…

In DC Comics, there are several forces that move the universe, much like gravity and momentum.

The Speed Force, the fundamental force behind all momentum, was the most famous one. The Endless, the seven beings behind much of the universe, was another. Then there were the Entities, like Ion, Predator, and Ophidian, who were power spirits of emotion. And finally the Green and the Red, which represented the forces of plant and animal life, respectively.

Wally didn't know anything about the Speed Force the first time I spoke to him about it, so that at least wasn't a factor at this point. The Endless definitely existed, but didn't seem to care about me, which was good by me. The Entities had yet to be mentioned in relation to the Green Lanterns, though that could change depending on how Hal Jordan's current journey in space was going.

And now the Green was confirmed to exist, in casual conversation no less.

"Anyways, we'll see how this whole prophecy thing goes." Hephaestus said with a scowl. "If it goes well, we can discuss what those things are worth, if they are worth anything of course. You can think about what you want in return till then."

He walked away, headed towards a chair I hadn't noticed. He stopped midway and looked over my shoulder. "One object. And nothing crazy. So you'd better use your head about what you want."

At my nod, he turned and walked away, leaving me to go join the others. As I got there, Aphrodite was gushing over Kaldur.

"It's adorable how much you care for her." She said brightly. "Tula would be so happy if she knew how you thought of her."

Kaldur didn't blush, he was too badass for that (So much so that it often surprised me that he was younger than me). But he did smile a bit bashfully. "Thank you, Lady Aphrodite. Your words humble me."

"Oh you charmer." She smiled, cupping his cheek lightly. He seemed startled at the contact, but she simply smiled in a somehow motherly fashion. "You'll be all right. You know that, yes?"

"I…" He blinked, surprised at the somehow sad and warm tone of her voice. "I do."

That was apparently the correct answer. She put her hand down, then turned to Diana.

"This generation of heroes will be quite exciting." Aphrodite giggled, then walked away. I did not start at her swinging hips as she did so.

"Mugyuu." Latias' catchphrase sounded somehow angrier than anything now. She glared a moment longer, and floated over me. Her emotions against my thoughts reminded me of a daughter who'd caught a woman she didn't approve of eyeing up her dad.

"Princess Diana, is there another room we can wait in?" Kaldur asked, seeming a bit overwhelmed.

"Yeah, if all these greetings will go this way…" I left the rest unsaid.

Wonder Woman chuckled, but nodded. "Come along."

I sighed, then looked over at Zeus. His attention was now fully on Aphrodite, and it was a very '1950's fratboy' kind of attention. Wasn't he her dad or something?

Shuddering, I followed the Princess of Truth, Superboy and Kaldur alongside me, and Latias floating overhead.

We walked towards one of the star walls, and it suddenly became a tunnel. The walk through was disorientating. The floor, walls, and ceiling were all made of the same spinning galaxies and star systems of the other room, and I kept feeling like I was floating in empty space.

The room at the end was a round room, much smaller than the other chamber, but big enough to hold us comfortably. The back of the room held a long table with snacks. Not all Greek either, thought there were some plates that had sliced bread half-dipped into bowls of hummus. There were min-hot dogs, tiny sandwiches, sushi rolls, bacon-wrapped shrimp (I made a note to make sure not to eat that) the sort of things you'd see at big events.

A small fire pit was in the center of the room, sunk into the marble. It sent the smell of burnt wood into the air, somehow making the smell of food even more inviting, rather than overpowering. The warmth of the fire seemed to sink into my bones, and I had to fight the urge to bring out Heatran so she could enjoy that heat as well.

Next to the fire was a woman. She looked like she was in her mid-thirties, dressed in a warm sweater, jeans, and a pair of comfortable shoes, as opposed to the more traditional clothing of the others we'd met. Her hair was medium length, and flowed down her back in curly waves. She was as beautiful as Aphrodite, with bright brown eyes, high cheek bones, and a very nice figure, if a bit more plush.

But she didn't have the same aura Aphrodite did. She just seemed nice.

I ignored everything to walk towards her. I got down on one knee and smiled. "My Lady Hestia."

She'd been poking at the fire, and looked up at me. She didn't smile, but her eyes seemed to crinkle with kindness. "Hello Mahmoud. It is good to finally meet you."

"And I you." I answered honestly.

"Oh?" Hestia chuckled as the others watched on curiously. "And they tell my story in your world?"

"In a thousand worlds." I answered, feeling a bit overwhelmed. "And from them, I want to say thank you. For the kindness you show to those around you, even in the toughest times."

She seemed a bit baffled, but her eyes still brightened. "Hmm. I suppose you are welcome, though I don't know what I've done to deserve it."

I chuckled. "It's probably just me. I'll most likely give the same greeting to Hades later."

The confusion became surprise. Then she smiled at last, in understanding.

"Very well." She looked at those behind me. "Princess Diana. You are well?"

"I am my lady." Wonder Woman answered easily, though she gave me an odd look.

"That is good." Hestia replied warmly. She gestured to the table. "Help yourselves, please. I imagine you haven't eaten yet."

It sounded like an order, rather than a request. We all followed it. As we did, Superboy's voice came over the link.

What was that? Do you know her? He asked, piling up a plate with random food items as he did.

I eyed the multi-colored tower of food he was making, then shook my head. Only by reputation.

I hadn't imagined you held Lady Hestia in such high esteem. Kaldur joined in, his own plate not as filled, but still comparable to Superboys.

She seems nice. Latias said. I turned to look at her only to hold back a laugh at the sight of her with her cheeks puffed with food. Why do you like her so much master?

After turning away from the cute/funny sight, I answered them. Hestia is the Olympian of the hearth, architecture, the family, and the state. She is also one of the few Olympians to have almost no stories devoted to her.

I grabbed a plate. Which, compared to some of the others, makes her a saint. She takes care of her family, she's the reason stable governments ever became a thing in the West, she stabilized the teaching of architecture, and most importantly… I grabbed a cabbage roll and took a bite, moaning slightly at how damn good it was. She doesn't ruin people's lives, mortal or immortal. She's nice. And because of the way others of her kind act, that alone makes her worth praising.

Wonder Woman filled a plate till it was even higher than Superboy's and began to eat. Mahmoud.

I looked over at her as her voice echoed over the link.

I understand how you feel about the Gods. And I appreciate your opinions of Hestia and Hades. She thought. But you must understand. In the Age of Heroes, the Gods were the only ones who gave mankind the power to fight back the darkness. For all their faults and mistakes, the Gods are the only reason mankind still stands as a force on this world. Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena are the only reasons the Amazons and myself are alive. Diana finished her plate as we looked at her. As I said, I understand how you feel. SO please understand how I feel as well.

Well damn. Now I felt like an ass. I'd been talking down about what was essentially my favorite superheroes religion.

I'm sorry Diana, I didn't mean-

She shook her head. I know. But there are others who would see such talk as an immense insult. She panned her eyes over to Hestia. And you never know who is listening.

That was when I felt it. So subtle even Latias hadn't registered it.

Wonder Woman, Superboy, Kaldur, Latias, me… and one other person listening in.

Latias yelped, shutting down the link, and the four of us looked over at Hestia as Diana continued to eat. Hestia looked up and smiled gently, nodding.

"You know," I quickly tried to change the subject, now officially freaked out. "Maybe my other Pokemon would like to eat."

Superboy understood immediately what I was doing. I was glad he held back the annoyance he must have felt at Hestia intruding on the link to look over at me.

"Is there even enough room for them all?" He looked around pointedly.

"There will be exactly as much room as needed." Hestia said from her hearth. This time she didn't react when we looked at her, but she seemed to have a sense of gentle pride as she added, "I am after all, the Goddess of Architecture."

"…Very well." Kaldur looked at me. "I suppose the gods will have to meet your Pokemon eventually. Best to release them here where they won't make a scene."

With that, I reached into my bag and began to release my team.


	23. What A Witch

When we came out of the room later, Hestia joined us. Once out of the freaky star tunnel, she immediately headed towards a hearth in front of the thrones that I was certain hadn't been there before.

At this point, the chairs were full. Well, I keep calling them chairs, but they really weren't. They were thrones. Zeus' was biggest of course, but they were all marble and gold creations that would have been the envy of the Kings of any age.

A throne only slightly smaller than his own had appeared next to Zeus. Which most likely made her Hera. She was dressed in purple robes that wrapped around her elegantly. She had long straight black hair, a perfect figure, pert lips, and was all-around supernaturally gorgeous, but after Aphrodite's initial whammy that didn't affect my thought process too much.

Wait, had Aphrodite purposely hit me that hard so I would be able to think clearly in the presence of similarly hot Olympians? I snapped my eyes towards Aphrodite. She was smirking at me, and nodded once.

What the- How did she know what I was thinking?

Wait. Stupid question.

I turned away again, instead looking over the thrones. There was a man who looked a lot like Zeus, only slightly slimmer, with the kind of tan you get from hours of sun. His hair was shorter as well. In his right hand was a massive golden trident with three sapphire blades, longer than he was tall, and he seemed to eye Kaldur as we entered. That was enough to identify him as Poseidon.

Another man wore a suit. A very well made and expensive looking suit, but a modern one. On his lap was a strange crown, one that looked like it was only half there. He had wavy black hair. Like the others he was good-looking, but in a dark brooding sort of way. He was tapping away at a cell phone, clearly doing work even as he sat there. Hades probably had a lot to do even in a world that had very few worshippers of the Olympians.

Ares and Athena were obvious. Athena was, like Hades, dressed in modern cloths, in this case a military dress uniform. It looked different from American dress uniforms. A quick Google search later showed that it was very similar to Australian SAS dress uniforms. Weird. She was also fairly built, the muscles in her arms and legs flexing in appealing ways as those intelligent eyes measured us.

Ares on the other hand looked very familiar. By far the tallest person there, he wore black grey armor covered in spikes, with a helmet that hid his face in shadow, only a pair of red eyes looking out at us eerily. It should have been intimidating, but I was actually reminded of the armors one would see in video games. Still, dude looked badass. And he was eyeing my Pokemon in a way that made me want to hit him. A combination of interest and greed I didn't like.

There were two other woman, both as perfectly formed and beautiful as the others. One looked a little older, dressed in simple green robes similar to Hera's, and had green vines in her hair, which was colored the same as freshly turned earth to give her appearance the feel of a beautiful field about to bear fruit. She was looking at Chesnaught, who spared her a curious look that she returned with a gentle smile. Demeter, maybe? I wasn't sure, but she was the only one who fit.

The other woman was wearing clothes I'd only ever seen in old westerns. A leather skirt made from some kind of animal, and necklace made of teeth. And nothing else. As in she was topless. I very carefully stared at her face, noting that she was also gazing at my Pokemon with a hungry look. Artemis the hunter. And if she was thinking about my Pokemon…

I pushed down my anger to look at the others. Then I blinked at the sight of a mailman. Seriously, it was a supermodel dressed in the clothes of a postman, sitting on a chair as gold as the others. His feet were bare, and two wings fluttered on each foot. He was handsome as hell, with black hair and muscles that shifted beneath his uniform. Hermes was working on his cell phone, same as Hades, but with a less intense look to him. And for some reason he kept taking selfies.

The last Olympian I noticed was Dionysius. He was wearing a rumpled toga. Unlike the rest it looked less 'Ancient Greece', and more like he'd grabbed a bed sheet. His eyes were disturbingly red, and he looked like he was a moment away from hurling. Leave it to the Olympian of Parties to come to a meeting with a hangover.

Before I could really register that I was standing in a room with some of the oldest beings in creation, another one stepped into the center. He ignored Hestia sitting at her hearth, instead looking over at us. "Ah, good. Almost ready."

Superboy seemed to shiver. He stared at the figure in the center, then down at himself.

"You okay?" I asked him, worried.

"I… I don't know." Superboy looked at me, confused. "I feel stronger."

"What are we waiting for Apollo?" Zeus asked, his voice as thunderous as ever. The king panned his eyes over to Zapdos behind me. My legend stared back at him. There was, and I mean no pun, an electricity in the air. Then they looked back at the man in the center of the room.

Apollo was blonde, his hair rolling down his shoulders in waves. He had perfect teeth, tanned skin, and muscles that were popping underneath what looked like ancient Greek military armor so shiny it reflected us.

And he was, once again, handsome.

Seriously, I knew I wasn't ugly or anything, but I was really starting to feel… well, let's just say I wasn't measuring up very well. If it wasn't for Hephaestus, I would have been the worst looking person in the room.

Though I did wonder about their appearances. Why were some in modern dress, while others looked more like their traditional selves?

Latias, I said to my adorable dragon-jet. Can you show me what everyone else is seeing here?

I'd asked on a whim. By when Latias showed me the other's points of view, I found myself surprised.

The Olympians looked like Pokemon. Not actual Pokemon, but it was as if all my Pokemon were seeing them as the closest thing to them, with wings, claws, and orbiting balls of power. The view differed between all my Pokemon though.

Superboy was seeing them all as their more traditional selves. Maybe because he had little to know previous prejudices about them?

Diana saw them as their traditional versions as well, but Kaldur's point of view was a very slightly different version, with Apollo dressed more Roman than Greek.

Perception filter? We were seeing them as we thought of them on an instinctive level? But what did that say about my view of them?

End the view. I petted Latias under her chin, stroking her feathers as she closed her eyes in happiness. Jirachi landed on my head, and we all listened as Apollo spoke.

"Only three more guests, father." Apollo said. "One may bring an entourage, but I believe that is fair, considering."

He craned his head around to eye my Pokemon.

"And these guests would leave us waiting?" Hera didn't sound mean. I'd been expecting her to, but I guess that was me being prejudiced on the behalf of the men and women she'd punished in her jealous rage.

The queen looked down at Apollo. "How much longer then?"

The door opened on queue. Which probably wasn't an accident, based on Apollo's smirk. Olympian of Drama after all.

I looked at the door. In walked Swamp Thing.

I suspected he'd be coming. A representative of the Green, who else could it be but the one character in DC most famous for that? But when the massive being walked in, my jaw still dropped.

Swamp Thing was tall. Even Chesnaught, one of the larger beings I'd ever met, was shorter by a full head. The vines that made up his body twisted into the imitation of muscles, across his arms and legs. It gave his body the appearance of a bodybuilder who'd gotten his skin ripped off to reveal forest green muscles and veins. His red eyes looked over the room. He didn't say anything, simply stepping inside to take a stop just between our group and the Olympians, on the right side of the pool.

The next person to walk in was also tall. Not as much as Swamp Thing, but taller than Wonder Woman. Though part of that was the long ponytail that swooped upwards to give her a couple inches. She wore a simple cloth top that wrapped around her large breasts, leaving her shoulders and well-muscled belly bare, another bit of cloth hanging from a rope that acted like a slitted skirt, showing her legs as she strode in after Swamp Thing, long muscles flexing on her thighs and calves. She had skin just between Kaldur's and mine when it came to darkness, smooth and clear, and her face had the stern beauty of a marble statue, with pert lips, large eyes, and thick eyelashes.

I spent a moment longer looking at her when I noted her turning her gaze to Heatran. For a moment, that stern look in her eyes disappeared. And as she stared at my lava monster, she looked like a little girl who'd seen her first pony. Her eyes sparkled beautifully, lips flickered into a smile.

It was a brief look. But one that I know would stick with me. No matter how stern she'd looked, that instant of beauty when she'd seen Heatran…

She was amazing.

I turned away, resolutely ignoring the delighted look Aphrodite was giving me.

"Okay, one more group, and we can stop describing things." Apollo gave me a pointed look, which confused the hell out of me.

What did I do?

As the dark-skinned woman strode to the other side of the room, one more person came in.

Diana's right hand suddenly clapped into a fist. She snarled like an animal.

 _"_ _Circe."_

Ah… shit.

The woman who came in was followed by two massive beings. Both were the shape of humans wearing loincloths, except for some important details. One had the head of a bull, and his skin was covered in black fur. The other had the head of a jungle cat, with enormous claws on his hands.

The woman herself had long black hair that reached the middle of her back. She wore nothing but a green dress that showed a lot of pale skim, all flowing silks and gold jewelry from head to bare feet. As she strode in with an arrogant sway of curvy hips, she looked over at Wonder Woman with bright blue eyes, and smirked.

Apollo looked between us. My Pokemon, feeling the agitation that Diana and I were putting out, shuffled around me, Jirachi nudging my head slightly. Circe and her Beastman stared at us challengingly. Kaldur and Superboy shifted to face off against the three before us. Chesnaught growled, and Heatran's usually shyness faded as she glared at Circe.

"There we go!" Apollo clapped his hands. "Okay then! Are we ready for the prophecy?"

No one said a word.

-

Circe. The witch that had tried to entrap Odysseus. In the modern day, she had become a supervillain.

Ted tangled with her. Only when she tried to mess with Wonder Woman while she was with JSA, but he'd taken her on. He had nothing nice to say.

I thought back on what I knew of her. A skilled magician, who's best trick was turning mortals into Beastmen to do her bidding. Thanks to a deal with Hecate, the one in charge of magic in Greek myth, she had enough pure strength and speed to take on Diana in combat if she wished. Circe even tried to replace her a time or two. Dangerous, and clever.

They say the only reason you don't hear a lot about Wonder Woman's enemies is that she doesn't leave many. What does that say about Circe, who has fought her for decades?

"Why is she here?" Diana asked. Anyone who didn't know her would have thought she was calm, as opposed to being ready to take off limbs.

"I invited her." Apollo admitted. "This prophecy is both clear, and confusing in a big way."

Everyone else in the room was staring at the proceedings with interest. Hades and Hermes had put away their cells. Well, actually Hermes was taking pictures with it, but he was focused. Zeus had even managed to stop staring at the dark-skinned woman who'd walked in earlier, though I suspected that was because Circe was gorgeous in her own right.

Swamp Thing crossed his arms, and his red eyes flashed. The dark-skinned woman shifted her bare feet on the tiles, bright eyes glaring at the Witch.

Circe didn't seem to mind. She smirked again, brushing hair back. The monsters behind her growled.

"Anyways, hear the prophecy before you all start fighting." Apollo reached into a pocket on his armor that didn't exist, and took out a scroll.

The room changed. The stars on the walls stopped spinning. The fire Hestia had been tending suddenly became less comforting and more haunting. The shadows lengthened. And the large pool of water in the center of the room began to ripple.

Master, Latias asked, startled. What is this?

I looked at Apollo, who seemed satisfied. Moodlighting. I told Latias.

Olympian of Drama after all.

"The prophecy reads as follows." Apollo had stopped smiling. When he spoke again, his almost casual speech had become something deeper, almost terrifying.

 _"_ _The blood skies come_

 _Men of Steel fall_

 _Dark Knight's falter_

 _Speed shattered, Olympus destroyed_

 _Immortals dead, mortals enslaved_

 _In the moment before, the Woman of Wonder comes_

 _As always, the controller of beasts follows_

 _The Rot sets in_

 _Red skies dawn_

 _As light wars among the stars_

 _Bringing the blackest night_

 _The Gods fight at the beast's side_

 _As the controller saves us all"_

-

Apollo stopped. He might as well have dropped an anvil on our heads.

Chesnaught nudged my shoulder, forcing me to release the breath I'd been holding. Slowbro slowly came up rub his head against me, and Chansey let out a sigh.

"So that's it." Apollo said, all his enthusiasm gone. "Either we follow this, controller of beasts. Or Olympus falls."

"Impossible." The words of Zeus brought our attention. He was glowering, lightning pooling into his fist. "We have survived all that came before. What threat is this? Have a care, Apollo!" The lightning in his fist cracked, illuminating the room as it disappeared. "We are not Odin's ilk, to speak so lightly of gods dying!"

"I'm not lying, father." Apollo said steadily. "That is the prophecy. The Oracle of Delphi agrees, and nothing has shown me different. The controller of beasts who follows the Woman of Wonder will be the only thing that saves us."

 **"** **As long as we bow!?"** Poseidon roared. My ears were screaming as he rose to his feet. "Never! I will never bow to mortals!"

"Sit down." Zeus and Poseidon spun their heads around to look at Hades. The sharply dressed Olympian of Death was looking at Apollo inquisitively. "There is a difference between bowing, and being at someone's side." He looked over at his brothers. "Apollo may be a dramatic, but he has never been a liar."

"You believe something is coming?" Athena asked. She sounded like she was considering something.

"He does." Everyone turned to look at Aphrodite. She was staring at me. A kind smile was on her face. "Well Mahmoud? What is it that has you so frightened?"

Red skies. Red skies. Oh god.

My stomach was churning. All I could think about was that line. _As red skies dawn_.

The infinite crisis. The end of reality. Of all realities.

The Anti-Monitor.

"We…" I swallowed, getting the lump out of my throat. "I had a plan in place, but I didn't… I thought I had time."

Had I done this? Had I sped events forward? _As light wars among the stars._ Hal Jordan was out there because of me, involved in something big because I'd said something to him. Was that because of me?

Oh god. Necron. The death of all in the universe.

 _The equation finished._ Darkseid.

They were coming. The worst in all the universe. The threats I'd written into a folder marked 'Omega'. The top three.

"Men of Steel." Superboy whispered.

"Dark Knights." Kaldur added, sounding haunted.

Master? Jirachi's voice brought me back.

I shuddered, then shook my head, Jirachi letting out a squeak as her perch moved from side to side. I pet Slowbro on the head, then sighed.

"Okay." The room had been staring at me after Aphrodite had pointed me out. I stepped forward. "I know what the prophecy is referring too. Most of it at least. And I know how to stop it."

"Then you should tell me." Circe's voice was haughty. She sounded almost like she was telling the punchline to a joke to her high society friends.

"Excuse me?" I looked over at her, frowning.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She didn't sound like she meant it. "Didn't you realize _child_. I am the one the prophecy refers too." She ignored the mutters that echoed around the room. Athena and Aphrodite looked pissed. Ares and Poseidon looked intrigued. The others seemed more neutral. Except Dionysuis, who took a swig of something from a bottle labeled, 'Hangover Cure'.

"Lady, you can't even name had the things that the prophecy is referring too."

She didn't seem fazed by my point. "And why would I need to? The prophecy refers to a controller of beasts, does it not?"

The last was directed to Apollo, who shrugged.

"Controller is a really clumsy wording." Apollo admitted. "But yeah, that's what it says."

"And yet, it must be one who is always there when the Woman of Wonder is, clearly our Diana" Circe ignored the glare Diana was giving her. "Therefore, I am obviously the one the prophecy refers too."

"After all," She laughed, striding towards me as I looked back into her eyes. "It is clear this prophecy states that the controller is someone who has always been there. And while Diana and I have had our differences, there are none who can claim I have not been a constant in her life."

"You have tried to kill me, Circe." Diana no longer sounded angry. More sad than anything.

"Oh, that was never personal." Circe waved a hand dismissively. "Who in this room hasn't tried to kill the others?"

Me, Superboy, Kaldur, and my Pokemon raised out hands, Chansey saying her name as she did. Circe ignored us.

"And look at you!" She eyed me, chuckling. "A mortal man, who uses animals to fight his battle for him. A non-believer no less! You are far from home, joining a team of children out of desperation."

Superboy growled, and Kaldur's eyes narrowed at the dig towards our team.

She walked up and looked me in the eyes, face to face. Her whisper carried through the room. "How pathetic. A mortal begging to be worth something in a world of legends. And yet, you'd be nothing without your beasts."

I looked Circe in the eyes. She believed that. She really believed I was a guy who'd gotten lucky. There was no doubt, in that arrogant mind of hers, that I wasn't even worthy of standing in front of her.

Well, she wasn't that wrong. Still, half-right is still not worth a damn.

That said, I'd gotten tired of being looked down on. Bane, Ivo, and now Circe.

I was a normal guy, sure. Not as strong as Bane, smart as Ivo, and not an immortal like Circe.

But I was also Pokemon Trainer. Seven of some of the most powerful beings in fiction called me friend, master, and leader.

And now I was a superhero. Trained by Wildcat and Batman, working with the kids who one day would become the successors to the best in the world.

Circe was working off faulty information if she thought she was actually hurting my feelings.

"First off," I said calmly, gazing into her eyes. "Shut up, Hannibal."

She blinked. "Who?"

"Second," I continued, ignoring her. "Accusing me of being nothing without my Pokemon is like saying a soldier is nothing without their arms and legs. They're my family. Something more than blood. I lead them, fight alongside them, and keep them safe. They are my power."

"My, such wonderful platitudes." Circe looked over my shoulder. "Really Diana, where did you find this mortal? He really does remind me of you."

"I take that as a compliment." I said dryly.

"Take it how you like." Circe looked back at me. " _I_ am the one prophesied. Not a mortal and his," She looked over at Heatran. My little lava monster looked back at her curiously. Circe curled her lips. " _Horrific_ monstrosities. I'm not sure even the worst monsters of the ancients have ever looked so hideous."

…What did she just say?

 ** _The fuck did she just say!?_**

I want to say I screamed. That the mere idea that she'd called Heatran, the sweetest of my Pokemon in a group that included Chansey, Latias and Jirachi, a hideous monster, made me lash out and beat her to death with my baton.

But I was frozen at the sight of Heatran. She looked stricken. She stared at Circe, steam slowly billowing from her face as tears fell from her eyes. Chansey stepped up and put a hand to my baby's head, cooing gently, Latias and Jirachi sending her comforting thoughts. Chesnaught and Slowbro were staring hard at Circe.

I watched Heatran cry. And Zapdos' mind joined with mine.

"I challenge you." My voice sounded odd. I can't explain it. But Zeus suddenly stared at me, his attention like a laser on my skin.

"What?" Circe had been smiling the way a high school bully would.

"For the right to be the one in the prophecy." I looked at her. In my mind, the echoing boom of thunder erupted. Zapdos floated over to me. Circe looked over at it, then backed away, still smirking.

Zapdos didn't make a sound. It's eyes were white. There was no electricity floating across it's flesh. At a certain level of power, you don't need to show off. The Pressure of Zapdos was more than enough. It uplifted me, even as I felt Circe's own presence push against it.

"See, here's the thing." I said, frost in my voice even as I spoke flippantly. "I didn't actually care about being the person in the prophecy. I was going to explain to everyone here what it might be pertaining to, then head home and figure things out."

I sighed.

"But then you decided to make things personal. To make fun of my family, my friends, and one of my teachers. You had to prove that not only were you the," I thought of the nickname Ivo gave me. "The Beastmaster the prophecy calls for, but that you were leagues better than me."

"So I challenge you. Me, Diana, Superboy, Kaldur, and my Pokemon, against you and anything you can bring."

"Oh?" Circe arched an eyebrow. "You must have little faith in your abilities, to ask so much help of those who are your betters."

"Lady, you want to be the one prophesied? Then you need to understand that me and mine are _nothing_ compared to what's coming." I shook my head. "Red skies. War of Light. Equation. Any one of those… If you really are worthy, you better prove it. And so should I."

"A fine challenge!" Apollo said.

His voice made me jump. I'd almost forgotten the Olympians were in the room. They were looking at us with deep interest. Swamp Thing's red eyes glowed harshly as he stood there like a grim green giant.

"Yes," Ares chuckled. His voice was booming, grating. "I must agree. A challenge I can agree with. The Witch and the Trainer must combat each other. And the winner shall be our Beastmaster."

"Or Beastmistress." Athena said, glaring at Circe. "What do you think, father?"

"Hmm." Zeus curled a fist under his chin. "It does makes sense. If this prophecy does require combat, we cannot have a weakling masquerade as our Beastmaster. Hades, Poseidon?"

Even though he asked their opinion, I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one who realized that Zeus would do whatever he wanted. Still, Poseidon nodded.

"Yes," He smirked at Kaldur. "Maybe I'll have the luxury of seeing the Spawn of Neptune get humbled."

Kaldur looked back at Poseidon coolly, not responding to much, but also being careful not to seem insolent. Slowbro growled when the water in the pool rippled with no source.

Hades sighed, then shrugged. "Very well. To the death?"

"My lords," Diana stepped forward. "I don't believe a battle to the death should be the result. While it may be necessary later, I don't believe sacrificing such valuable resources for a test such as this would be worthy."

"Oh please." Circe scoffed. "What use is he if he loses?"

"You do not burn down the forest to kill a single prey." Artemis said. "The two of you may still serve the Gods even after losing. If what is coming is truly the threat we believe…"

"I agree." Athena said.

"I don't." Ares growled. He looked over at Diana. Wonder Woman looked back at him, half-smiling. He sighed. "Oh, very well. No killing."

Demeter, Hermes, Dionysus, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, and Hestia said nothing, letting the more combative decide what to do I guess.

"I suppose, as challenger, you must decide. When and where should the bout be?" Circe asked, turning towards me, still smirking.

Getting real tired of bad guys smirking at me.

"Ares and Athena should decide where we fight." I said, trying to sound like I was making it up as I went along. "Between them they cover war in all its facets. They'd know the best place to make us test each other."

The two war Olympians shared a distasteful glance. I guess they didn't like each other, as usual for both comics and mythology alike.

But they were good choices in my opinion. Ares represented things like bloodlust, hunger, home, and all the bravery and cowardice that soldiers had. Athena represented intelligence, detachment, tactics, and the crushing responsibility or horrific indifference of generals. Between them, choosing a field of battle wouldn't be hard.

"As for the time, no better than the present." Zapdos was still behind me, illuminating me as I spoke. "We fight today. Two hours. First to defeat the others group, in its entirety, wins."

-

Ares and Athena walked off to fight over where the battle would take place. Everyone else immediately rushed over to a long table of food that had come out of nowhere. Soon, plates clicking and family arguments echoed through the room.

I hurried over to Heatran. I got to a knee and grabbed her mask, wincing at the hot steam still rising. Latias connected my mind to Heatran's as I hugged her.

She was angry. More than I can remember. Sad, hurt. But she was also insulted. And something many forgot, something even I forgot sometimes, was that Heatran was a Legendary Pokemon.

Zapdos, still connected to me, sent a wave of approval at the hot rage now bubbling in my little girl. I ignored him, just hugging Heatran.

"Chan." I looked up to see Chansey handing me one of her eggs with a soft smile. I took it with a smile of my own and slowly fed it to Heatran.

"Slowbro, Slow." Slowbro suggested.

"Not today." I looked over at Circe. "We need to finish the challenge. Then we see what we can do."

Slowbro's smile would have worried me any other time. Tthat day I relished the dark glee that was his mind.

"So we have to fight?" Superboy asked.

"Ah, damn." Wincing, I looked up at Kaldur and Superboy. "Sorry. I wasn't thinking. Do you guys want to sit this one out, or—"

"She called us children." Superboy said simply. "Let's beat her down."

Kaldur smiled with a hint of exasperation at Superboy, then turned to me. "Whatever the case, it seems this Beastmaster will have an important position in world events. We cannot allow Circe to be chosen." He smirked. "And I must say, forcing her to abdicate her claim would be satisfying."

Chesnaught roared in laughter, a big grin on his face.

That was when Diana walked up, followed by the dark-skinned woman. "Mahmoud, Kaldur, Superboy. This is Pele, the Hawaiian Goddess of Fire."

Kaldur looked a bit amused at the sight of yet another person from a Non-Roman pantheon, but bowed. "My lady."

I hugged Heatran as I looked up at her. Pele looked back at me, then at the way I was hugging my girl. Then she sighed.

"I'd come to see who it was who had been interfering with my work." Pele's voice had an accent I'd never heard before, probably Hawaiian. "But instead of finding an interloper, I find you and your child."

"Uh, yeah, sorry." I stood, feeling nervous for some reason. "Was it Santa Prisca or Mount Justice? Because it was not her fault, either time."

"Both." Pele gave me an odd look, then smiled. "I had expected a harsh taskmaster when I heard the little one was under the command of a mortal. It is good to see I was wrong."

I found myself grinning. Then I leaned down to Heatran. "Come here sweetie. Someone wants to meet you."

Hesitantly, Heatran came forward. Pele got that look in her eyes again, like the awe of a child in front of their new baby sibling. Heatran looked back at her shyly. She barked, and a beautiful grin appeared on Pele's face.

I looked up from the cute interaction of the two to see Demeter and Swamp Thing with Chesnaught.

 _What now?_

"I'll leave you two to get acquainted."

As I walked over to the three Elementals, Superboy came along. "What's going on?"

"Chesnaught, the only Grass-Type on my team, is talking to two of some of the most powerful plant-users in existence." I told Superboy. "And they're just some of the people interested in my Pokemon here. Seriously, this shit is getting too crazy, too fast."

Superboy snorted.

When we came up, Chesnaught was looking between Demeter and Swamp Thing in confusion.

"You have no right." Demeter said sternly to Chesnaught. "If we are to face what is coming, those of us who understand the Green must come together. No other group can support you as I can."

 **"** **YOU KNOW THAT IS NOT TRUE."** Swamp Thing's voice was weird. Not loud, but somehow always echoing in your ears. **"** **BUT THE MATTER IS MOOT. HE IS SENTIENT. HE HAS CHOSEN THE LIFE HE WANTS. OUR AGENDAS DO NOT COINCIDE WITH HIS."**

"But the Rot—" Demeter stopped, frustrated. "You know what is to come Holland! We _must_ prepare."

"We will." I said as I walked up. In all the stuff the prophecy had spoken of, the Rot had almost escaped my mind. But I had ideas for that. "Everything in the prophecy has its weaknesses. Has been beaten in other realities."

Demeter stared at me. "And the Rot? You know of it."

"Yeah." I looked over at Chesnaught. "Just like the rest, I thought it would be decades before we face anything like it. But if it's coming, then I need to accelerate my plans. Get straight Machiavellian in this bitch."

 **"** **DO NOT FORGET."** Swamp Thing added gently. **"** **CHESNAUGHT IS ALSO OF THE RED. WE HAVE EACH ASKED HIM TO JOIN. HE HAS REFUSED."**

Demeter looked like she was going to kill us. I was confused as hell. They'd asked Chesnaught to join them? What was he to them? Why was he so important?

My second-in-command looked as confused as I did.

Superboy looked more like he was starting to wonder why he was even there. I felt better having my own friendly musclehead around, but it seemed like he was looking for something to do.

The Earth-Mother seemed to deflate, finally nodding and walking away. I felt a ball of tension leave me. Demeter once shut down farming across the planet, starving thousands. I had no doubt she had good control, but the fact she'd seemed so pissed at Chesnaught worried me.

"What did you say, bro?" I asked Chesnaught.

"Chesnau." He shrugged, still confused. "Naught."

I was touched. Apparently he'd told them his allegiance was to me, and only me. I will never understand what I've done to earn so much loyalty, but it was humbling. "Thanks bro."

 **"** **YOU ARE TRAINER RED."**

How do you forget about the giant plant man in the room?

"Uh, yes, I am. Apparently I've stepped on a few toes since I've gotten here."

Looking around, I realized what an understatement that was. After all, apparently my Pokemon were getting dragged into a prophecy, and me by proxy. I knew I wouldn't have been a part of this without my Pokemon, I wouldn't have gotten as far as I did as fast as I did without my Pokemon. But I knew my Pokemon wouldn't be here without me either, which made whatever was happening my responsibility.

I looked back at Swamp Thing. He was an Omega-Level power. The only possible way to kill him was to destroy all the plant life on a planet, and even then he would reform somehow. He could turn cities into forests, deserts into oasis, and gather enough power to destroy even the most powerful Metahumans.

Apparently he still thought of himself as Alec Holland, rather than realizing he was a being with Alec Holland's memories. Still, I knew he was a good person.

 **"** **YOUR POKEMON."** Swamp Thing looked at them all, stopping at the sight of Jirachi cutely waving her arms around as she told a story to a giggling Aphrodite. **"** **THEY CARRY A PRESENCE. THEY LEAVE FOOTPRINTS ON THE MAKE-UP OF REALITY."** He looked at Zapdos, Heatran, Jirachi, and Latias. **"** **SOME MORE THAN OTHERS. BEWARE."**

He walked away.

"…Ominous." I said after a moment. I looked over at Superboy, who was staring at Apollo again. The blonde man was speaking to Artemis, a wide smile on his face as she stared at him with the look only an annoyed sister can give.

For a moment, I felt a deep pain, seeing Apollo clearly making fun of his sister. I missed my sister. We were pretty close. I mean, in a group of six kids, me and my sister had annoyed each other, gotten mad at each other, worked together, and made fun of crappy tv shows together.

I missed her. I mean, I missed my mom, my dad, and my little brothers too. But looking at Apollo and Artemis, I suddenly missed my sister.

A sudden weight on my head dragged my eyes up. Jirachi sighed as she sat on me, resting so that her cheek was in my hair. Another weight on my shoulder made me turn to see Latias' head on my shoulder. I smiled at them.

"Guess I was broadcasting, huh?"

It's okay master. Latias said sadly. I understand. I miss my brother.

I miss Rayquaza. Jirachi said in agreement.

Well… shit. Sometimes I forgot my Pokemon had history. I'd never really delved into it. But hearing now, that my Pokemon also had people they missed. It made me feel better, even as I felt like a jerk for feeling better.

"So is he projecting sunlight?" I turned my attention to Superboy. The dour Teen of Steel grunted.

"Maybe. It's strong though." He looked over at me. "Apollo. He's the god of the sun?"

"And a bunch of others. Medicine, theater, prophecy. And honestly, he kind of shares the sun thing." Kaldur walked up to us, and I turned to him. "How about you? Any idea why Poseidon has a hate on for you?"

"Possibly." Kaldur sighed. "Perhaps you shouldn't have brought me. I don't believe he looks on you favorably."

We all looked over at Poseidon. He and Hera were speaking. There was a tense distance there, an immense amount of politeness. Hera looked over at us. I was worried for a moment, but she gave us a smile and a polite nod, which the rest of us returned. Except Jirachi, who had fallen asleep on me.

"Speaking of aqua people that get angry, have you guys seen Slowbro?"

"He's in the pool." Kaldur nodded towards the water in the center. Inside I saw Slowbro's Shellder tail appear for a moment, before disappearing.

Looking around a bit more, I saw Chansey sitting down with Hestia in the center of the room. My pink blob was nodding in agreement with whatever Hestia was telling her, responding with small repetitions of her name.

Zapdos had taken a spot near where Diana was now speaking with Aphrodite. It's wings were folded up, and it looked around with narrowed eyes. I connected my mind to it with Latias' connection. The storm that made up it's thoughts was boiling. It wasn't tense. But the presence of the beings around it was making it ready to attack. With my other Pokemon, sending soothing emotions would have worked. But Zapdos would have seen that as weakness. I simply ordered it to keep calm.

The Electric Pokemon looked at me, enraged. I 'sent' it another message. The prophecy hadn't come across well to Zapdos. What are words to a storm? What does the paltry attempt of man to explain the universe to a being plugged into it? But Apollo was a being even greater than Zapdos. And that meant his words were more than words, and his prophecy was so much more than that.

I reminded it of what I'd let it know long ago, in the field of the Kent Farm.

The monsters I'd told him about were coming. And we needed to keep cool, because this room was full of those very monsters. Any one of them, from loving Aphrodite to the dour Hades, could destroy us like so much meat.

So calm the hell down, and we'll end up beating what's coming. I panned my eyes over to Circe, using my emotions more than my words to speak. Save it for the witch.

Circe was standing next to her Beastmen. She held a glass of red wine in a hand, because of course she did. The Beastmen were staring at my Pokemon, growling lightly, but I ignored them. Animals, no matter how magical, didn't scare me anymore.

Besides, you don't fear a bear in the distance when a tiger is mere feet away.

The tiger in question was staring at Diana or her glass of wine. The Princess of Truth didn't seem to mind the attention.

That was Wonder Woman. She may get angry at her worst enemies, but she never really hated them. You had to admire the kind of person who could see the worse people in the world and still see something in them worth seeing as good.

Circe looked over at me, her purple eyes meeting mine. Then Kaldur, then Superboy. She smirked at the three of us.

Pele and Heatran were still playing together when all discussion stopped. Ares and Athena walked into the room. Both looked annoyed, even Ares under his helmet. Still, they nodded. "We have a location." Athena said, sitting down on her throne primly.

The room shuffled around. Everyone moved over to their places. Diana took the center place of our group, Circe across from her. The Olympians took their thrones, though Hestia went to her hearth. Pele separated from Heatran, the two fire girls looking very pleased, and took her spot across the pool from Swamp Thing.

"Where is it?" Diana asked.

"A snowy region we know of." Ares said. He lifted a hand, and a globe appeared in the center of the room. Inside we could see what looked like a forest, full of white powder. The image was even better than the holographic screens in the cave. "The rules are simple. You each gather in across from one another."

Ares seemed to sigh at the sight of the forest. "It's in Mongolia. A place where a lot of blood has been spilt. Good terrain to test a soldier."

"How much time do we have to get ready?" Kaldur asked, now in command mode. He wasn't idle about it. He was clearly devouring every view the globe was giving us. Athena's eyes seemed to flash in approval at the way Kaldur tried to memorize everything he could.

Ares laughed. "You go now."

"No time to prepare?" Circe asked. I knew why. She'd clearly only brought her two Beastmen with her. Which only made her one of the most dangerous beings on the planet, as opposed to being able to take on Wonder Woman.

"Your tools will be provided for you." Ares chuckled, a dark laugh. "Now, leave."

And just like that, we were in a forest, leaving the Olympians, Pele, and Swamp Thing behind. All of us dressed in our full uniforms, with even my Pokemon wearing their battle items.

"Showoffs." Superboy said simply.


	24. In the Forests of the Night

As Kaldur started telling everyone where to move, I tied a Choice Scarf to Heatran and tried not to freak out.

Despite my joke about delegating, I knew I'd have to take lead. I was getting the feeling that if I wanted the role of Beastmaster, then I needed to prove I was worth the role.

Except that I didn't feel like I was. And I don't mean that in a low self-esteem sort of way. I mean it for the same reason I don't run into hospitals and demand to start doing brain surgery. Because there are lives on the line and I know full well I don't have the training for it.

The analogy might not have been perfect, but I was currently feeling like that lawyer holding a brain in one hand and a scalpel in the other. Overwhelmed and well aware of the consequences if I screwed up.

But then, who doesn't feel overwhelmed at a job interview?

"Because this is a job interview." I whispered to Heatran. She looked at me in cute confusion. "Me and Circe are up for the same position, right? So I just need to show my potential employers I've got the chops to represent them. She has the advantage in a lot of respects. But I've got you and everyone else."

I rubbed Heatran behind her 'ears' and kissed her forehead, getting a cheerful growl in response. I rose up and walked over to where Diana was floating in the air.

"Okay, Double-W." I said to her simply. "Circe. According to what I know, she is a scorned paramour of Odysseus, a badass witch who can shapeshift others or summon up monsters of myth. What am I missing?"

"Not much." Diana answered. "But for a few details. When the Goddess Hecate gave Circe power, it came with the natural strength and vitality of the Gods. She has enough personal power to fight myself and Superman in hand to hand combat. Her magic has also been enhanced. She can release various elemental blasts, create illusions, and, as you said, summon others to do her bidding. This last power is the one that has allowed her to survive me.

Her beasts are often powerful. She has a love of turning mortals into her bestial thralls, but her most powerful beasts come directly from history. In my battles with her, she has summoned monsters that have challenged the likes of Theseus, Achilles, and, of course, Odysseus. I know not if they are the original beasts every time, but they are formidable. If she truly wishes to take on this role, then we may well face multiple monsters thought to be legends."

"Legends, huh?" I looked over at Chesnaught, who was standing ready. "What do you think, bro? Up for fighting a few more legends?"

He turned to give me a smirk, which I returned. "Okay. What should we look out for?"

"Avoid confronting her directly." Wonder Woman said. "Allow me to fight her, but avoid being alone with her. Her beasts should be your priority. As it is, I imagine we are more than capable of withstanding the ones I've seen."

Her voice hardened. Whatever had remained of the kind and caring woman she was slipped away, giving way to the warrior and killer that protected the world since World War II.

"But she is a witch. She has never run out of tricks, and never used all her options. She has obtained weapons and allies from all across the planet. The Gods have proclaimed that this battle will not be to the death. Do not take comfort in that. Circe does not mind circumnavigating rules if she feels they will stop her goal. Your lives will be in danger. I will protect you if I can, but I will not coddle you. Fight with all you have, and watch for deception."

She looked over at me. "Now. What is your plan?*-"

"Put me on the spot, why don't ya?" I sighed, nodding. "Okay then. Zapdos. Hit that asshole."

A flash of yellow light was followed by a boom, and a loud screech of pain. My link to my Pokemon let me access their senses as well, allowing me to smell the nasty stench of fur getting ignited by lightning.

The Thunder, and I do mean the move, had slammed into the enemy Latias had sensed coming towards us. He came out of the snow while screaming in pain and rage. The creature was as massive as a truck, with white and black striped fur, green eyes, and the body of a bipedal tiger. The beast's roar nearly deafened me. The smell of burned fur was joined by that of scorched meat, and I could see where Zapdos' merciless attack had turned his side into a burnt ruin.

The beast ran towards us on all fours, treating the knee deep snow on the forest floor like a grassy pathway towards us. I swear I saw saliva drip from his upper jaws as he leaped towards us.

The beast, who was about as tall as an average house, was intercepted by a one-foot tall, doll-like being cheering happily as she slammed into its chest while surrounded by the psychic energy of a Zen Headbutt. The beast went flying back into a tree.

Fight time! Jirachi cheered.

The trees began to move.

Hostile minds, coming! Latias called out.

"Finally." Superboy growled, fists tightening.

"Chesnaught!"

"Get ready!" I reached into my bag. "Link up, prepare for orders!"

"Understood!" Kaldur called out as he prepared to bring his magic to bear.

I barely had time to put on my new weapons. Then they were on us.

 **PYJ**

The chaos of battle is always hard. Covering your own ass, covering the asses of your friends, and trying to beat down the enemy, all at the same time, is pretty much the ultimate test for multitasking. Doing it on top of directing the battle is even harder.

The beasts that came from us were like something out of a mythology professor's greatest nightmare. They tended towards a sort of 'werebeast' form, bipedal, with hands instead of paws, but still carrying the fur and ferocity of animals, and the size and weight of trucks to boot. Lions and tigers and bears came at us in streams, their roars sending plumes of snow into the air, their claws sheering tree trunks as they ran, some leaping into the trees to attack from above. They all had superhuman strength, speed, and durability, as well as the claws and senses of their animal halves.

Superboy was the first to discover another danger they could unleash. He fearlessly leaped towards the first beastman to attack, a polar bear. His comparatively smaller body didn't deter him from tackling the bear and punching the beast. The bear roared, clawing at Superboy's chest. Superboy ignored it's attempt to drive him away in favor of removing teeth from the bears head the hard way.

Kaldur noticed first. "Superboy!"

"What!?" Superboy called back.

"You're bleeding!"

Superboy blinked at that. He looked down at his chest.

The cuts weren't deep. Barely a scrape really. But it had the same effect as seeing a baby taking a bite out of titanium. Superboy staggered back. Chansey hopped forward, pulling him back.

Chesnaught took Superboy's place, slamming his fists into the ground. Chesnaught roared, his voice outstripping that of the other animals, before he slammed into another bear beastman, this one brown in color. The two titans clashed, and Chesnaught bit deep into his opponent's shoulder, blood steaming as it hit the cold air. Chesnaught's teeth enlarged as he activated his Super Fang ability, fangs slicing through flesh and bone with ease.

The beastman snarled and pushed Chesnaught back, then clawed at my bears face. Large, bloody marks traced Chesnaught's face, followed by other on his chest when the beastman struck again. Then, in a simple move learned from Wildcat, Chesnaught ducked around the next two wild slashes before countering with a Drain Punch.

As Chesnaught's attack absorbed the last of the bear beastman's vitality, the cuts on his face and chest slowly sealed, then disappeared. He looked back at Chansey and Superboy.

Chansey was already beginning to heal him. She said her name comfortingly to Superboy as he stared at the cuts in shock. For all I knew, it was the first time he'd ever seen his own blood. It was oddly pinker than normal human blood. He touched a wound, almost awed when his fingers came away with more liquid.

There was a moment of incomprehension. Then I realized what was happening.

Magic. I announced. These guys are flooded with it. It lets them ignore the laws of physics. Superboy, Kryptonian powers depend on those laws. You can still kick their butts, but you have to be careful.

I… I'm bleeding? I'd never heard him sound that way. Less fear, and more like a child coming to a deep realization.

Superman would bleed too. I said quickly. But he still fights things like these every day. Every superhero ends up bleeding one day. Do you really want to be one of the ones who quits because of it?

I didn't get to see the effects of my crappy pep talk. By the time I'd finished thinking it, the whole of the horde was upon us.

A wolf-headed beastman dropped from a pine tree to lope towards me, howling. I raised my fists, a part of me screaming at the insanity of what was happening. Then I was ducking claws that could sheer through steel, and there was no more time for fear.

Dodging a super-speedy opponent is impossible for a natural human. Instead, you need to move out of the way at the exact moment they attack, using cues from body language to predict and counter.

It's risky. If I'd screwed up my prediction, or fell for a feint, I would have the unpleasant joy of seeing my entrails on the snow.

Luckily, Wildcat and Batman had made a career out of matching far faster and stronger opponents, and both had made sure I was at least on my way to being able to do the same.

I may not be as fast as Robin, but I was more than able to duck the wolf's attack.

He lashed out twice more, getting me with his pinkie claw on the last strike. I'd barely dodged, but still felt a white heat across my face. I managed to keep cool long enough to finally attack. My right fist, which was currently wrapped in a thick red gauntlet, slammed into the wolf's stomach. Electricity flowed from the point of contact. The smell of burnt flesh, fur, and howl of pain made me smile just a bit.

The Elec Gloves were something WayneTech had developed, based on the technology of certain electricity inclined villains. They would eventually be marketed to security guards in more discrete forms. But for now, the red gauntlets of metal and leather that wrapped around my fists were perfect.

I punched the wolf in the face, dropping him, then focused on the others through my link.

Chansey had stopped healing Superboy, and had unleashed her Stealth Rocks. The small pointed stones floated around the battlefield, hovering innocuously over the snow. But as new combatants came, the stones came to life, spinning around and slamming into the various beastmen, digging into flesh and making them that much weaker.

Chesnaught had added his Spikes to that, further paining the beastmen with thorns in their feet. Now the pink blob and green knight were in the thick of battle, smashing aside opponents, throwing them, and, in Chansey's case, slapping the ever-loving shit out of them. They were getting beat up. Both were tough, but there were more than enough beastmen to claw, bite, and simply muscle into them. Luckily Chesnaught had his recovery skills. He was placing Leech Seeds on dozens of the beastmen, absorbing their health even as they attacked, healing himself constantly. Combined with the magic of Leftovers, he was doing well.

Chansey was simply healing herself, keeping it to short bursts. She was fighting, but mostly in a support role. Every once in a while she would pulse with electricity, and a beastman would suddenly start twitching, muscles paralyzed by her Thunder Wave. Or she would glow purple, and a beastman would start chocking on nothing as Toxic poisoned him.

Superboy had apparently taken my words to heart. He was fighting with incredible skill and strength. One lion beastman attacked him, only to get swept off his feet with a hilarious yelp, followed by Superboy kicking him in the ribs and sending him flying.

A tiger beastman leaped onto the Teen of Steel from behind and bit into his shoulder. Superboy growled in pain, but reached back and grabbed the tiger by the scruff of its neck fur. A quick pull sent the tiger flying, and Superboy followed leaping forward towards a bull beastman, ignoring the bite mark in his shoulder.

I found myself back-to-back with Kaldur. I punched outwards over and over again. My throat was raw as I yelled, and my brain seemed to heat up as I directed the flow of battle within my mind, giving orders to my friends even as I kept alive. Kaldur swept out with his water weapons, shifting between swords, maces, whatever worked best to keep himself alive. I slammed a fist into the shoulder of lizardman, allowing Kaldur to kick the still-twitching green beast away. He blocked a bull that tried to charge us with a shield, and I grabbed the bovine bruiser by the horns to start bashing my fist into its sensitive nose.

Wonder Woman zoomed over our heads, followed by Latias. Apparently Circe hadn't sent any flying monsters after us, which gave out fliers a fantastic advantage. Latias was unleashing every long-range attack she had, blasting the battlefield with Dragon Pulses, Mist Balls, Psychics, Shadow Balls, and even elemental attacks like the Grass-Type Energy Ball and the standard Electric-Type Thunderbolt. I quickly regulated her to chaos maker, simply flying around like the jet she was and blasting the field with enough force to make any Air Force pilot proud.

Of course, her Thunder was nothing compared to the real deal. Zapdos was letting loose, and the only order I gave it was to not hit us. Other than that, we stood in a field of electricity. I soon had to try and rein it in, because the constant flashes of lightning threatened to blind us. Beastman were all around the field, skin scorched, bodies twitching. Even with me holding it back, Zapdos' screech filled the air, and blasts of electrical power came down from the heavens to slam into the ground, melting snow, igniting wood, and sending enemies flying.

Zapdos and Latias weren't the only long range fighters. Heatran had taken a position at the center of the chaos, surrounded by us. She had powerful defenses, her typing granted her that, but it was her firepower, literal and figurative, that made her dangerous. Since Chansey and Chesnaught had already unleashed entry hazards, she was free to turn the field into something from the deepest depths of the pit. The massive monster roared, and lava spewed from her mouth in torrents. Melted stone splashed against flesh, and turned it to something less than ash.

It was thanks to her that we found out the beasts attacking us weren't real beings. Not much can survive the heat of magma, and where I directed her to attack, the beastmen puffed into golden dust. I made sure to direct Latias and Jirachi's minds towards making sure we weren't turning some poor transformed man into chunks of meat of course.

But with the freedom to attack at will, Heatran finally revealed what was hidden underneath. She was a sweetheart. But she was also the volcano. And she glowed with the joy of battle as she brought the world around her into the same depths she swam in. Every once in a while she would glow silver and unleash the laser like blast of a Flash Cannon to accurately bring down an enemy, or force the earth underneath a howling beastman to explode upwards. But she was the volcano. And she turned those who came at us to ash.

Jirachi was, in many ways, the diametric opposite of Latias. While both maintained our mental link, and both played the role of assassin/distraction, Jirachi did so on the ground, and used her powerful body rather than her formidable skills. She weaved around us, her tiny body flashing around us. At one point she came from under my arm to Body Slam a lion beastman, giggling as she laid him out. She was a tiny hell raiser, often invisible as she attacked, dodged, and Protected us.

Slowbro though. I knew he would love it. I knew the idea would make him happy. Hundreds of enemies, all ready to kill us?

Slowbro.

I Mega-evolved him. And then I let him loose.

Sometimes I saw him out of the corner of my eye. Slowbro is a first-generation Pokemon, which means he's been around long enough that he has gained one of the most varied set of attacks in the Pokemon world. And he unleased them all.

Wrapped almost entirely in his Shellder, he span like a top across the battlefield. And beastmen died. Tongues of flame, blasts of electricity, lasers that froze beings solid, telekinetic blasts that sent things flying or lifted debris to smash it into bodies. The world around Slowbro melted, froze, disintegrated, electrified, or was simply smashed against his form like water on the shore.

And that was where his real danger came from. The water. It came like the ocean itself. Surf unleashed waves outwards, crushing beastmen under tsunamis. Accurate blasts of Hydro Pump cut beastmen in half, turning them to puffs of golden dust. Water Pulse made them reel in confusion, letting the rest of us pick them off.

And underneath that, he was calm. Slowbro was happy. He was relaxed. Once again, he had found his peace, and God help anyone who he had to break to make it last.

Truthfully, the only one who truly outstripped the more disastrous of us was Wonder Woman.

Nothing lasted against her. The rest of us got scratched up. Chansey, Chesnaught, Jirachi, and Slowbro all could either heal others or themselves, but I told them to only do bigger healing moves for the truly injured. I, Kaldur, and Superboy soon accumulated wounds. My armor protected me pretty well, but there was a cut on my face, along my arms where the gauntlets didn't protect me, and on the side of my neck where a bear had managed to sneak up before Latias blasted it to dust.

Kaldur was better off, his magically-enhanced skin and armor protecting him where Kevlar and Kryptonian blood failed, but he still had a bite mark on his right bicep. He soldiered on, listening to my orders as he used melted snow and the waters Slowbro created to match the feats of my Pokemon with precise blasts that turned the course of battle.

Superboy leaped around the battlefield like a demented squirrel. If squirrels had declared war on nature itself. The earth shattered beneath his lunges, furry faces broke, and any attack on him was met with ferocious retribution. He had taken the sight of his blood personally, and was working it out through his fists. Not healthy, but he was taking out enemies like no tomorrow even as he accumulated cuts and scrapes, Black Canary's training keeping from getting hurt too bad.

But Wonder Woman didn't have a scratch on her.

And why would she?

She had unleashed a tiny portion of her full power. The speed of Hermes made her the fastest of us, and she ignited the air around her as she blazed around the battlefield, taking down beastmen with precise punches and the brutal sound of necks snapping underneath those beautiful hands. Her hair fluttered about her face as she flew through the air, spinning about to slam her feet into the back of a bull beastman and break his neck. Her lasso snaked around our foes, pulling them away with brutal force if they were about to harm the rest of us, or simply dashing their bodies against the stones and trees around us.

She was not a force of nature. Forces of nature do not plan. They have no emotions, no minds, and so cannot work efficiently.

Wonder Woman was a warrior. Here, in this world of beasts, she stood above them all. The lightning could not match her fist, and the fire was nothing to her ability to break our enemies. There was a beauty in her smile as she did the work of all of us. As I watched her fly through the air, dragging a jaguar beastman in one hand as she slammed her fist into the chest of a wolf with other, I understood why some considered violence an art. She was a painter, and the world had become a canvas.

But damn, there was a lot of paint.

Okay, we left ridiculous about fifty beastmen ago. I noted as Chesnaught let another bear beastman run into his Spiky Shield. Seriously, this is the textbook reason Zerg Rushes are so popular. We need to move.

Indeed. Kaldur landed next to me, kicked a wolf beastman's feet out from under him, and then stabbed the beast in its chest. As the magical being faded into golden dust, Kaldur took a stance. What is the plan?

This is all a waste of time. My mind raced, and the words came out even as Chesnaught slammed into bull beastman mere inches from me. He gave the beast a massive blow with Wood Hammer, his green glowing fist caving in the bovine beast's chest, before he bit into its shoulder and shook his head like a dog biting into steak.

While we're dealing with the riffraff, they're tiring us out. Circe might not know about my potions, but we need to conserve those. In the end, she's the priority. She must be using these to prepare her real forces, which means she's got something bigger on the horizon.

That does sound like her. Wonder Woman landed next to Superboy. Ten beasts leaped towards them. Claws slashed forward. Superboy redirected one with a judo throw, and broke the arm of the other. Wonder Woman killed the rest. I didn't know how, there was just a blur before eight piles of golden dust landed on the ground, but she did. She tends to use cannon-fodder to distract from her true plan. And I have yet to see a true beast of myth, just these false creatures.

I looked over us. While Wonder Woman was fine, and the rest of us could go for a while, letting things continue like this would be a mistake. Numbers would tell, or Circe's bigger beasts would come forth. Either way…

Manuever fifteen, I think. I messaged to Kaldur. Did you get a look at the terrain? I want to decide where to go.

He responded with images. As he directed water to send a wave towards our right, I 'flipped' through the map he'd built in his head.

There. I stopped on the image of several buildings. Modern designs, but still fitting the description of a village. Circe might not be there. But if she wants thralls, she could attack those people. We need to head there, regroup, and protect them. And if she is there, then we disrupt her plans.

Plan in mind, I linked up to Chesnaught. He was having the time of his life, boxing back and forth with beastman, a joyous roar filling his mind. When I told him what I wanted him to do, that roar got even louder.

Kaldur struck first. He gather all the water around him and unleashed a massive wave. Kaldur's knuckles turned while on his water bearers. He staggered, trying not to fall down. It was a tremendous effort for him, and he roared in exertion as he turned the world around him into a tsunami, but it gave Chesnaught the opening he needed.

Chesnaught breathed deeply. His fists clenched. When he roared, the sound shook the air.

"▄▅▄▅▂▂▃▃▄▄▅ **!"**

The sound, somewhere between a beast, a man, and a demon, seemed to call for attention. For a moment, the forest shuddered.

Then? The Growth.

Trees erupted from the ground at super-speed. Vines wrapped around bodies and broke bones. Branches as thick as baseball bats lashed to crush skulls. Leaves the size of dinner plates flew through the air, slicing apart flesh and leaving piles of golden dust all around.

Frenzy Plant. The ultimate art of Grass-type starters, and one of the most powerful moves in existence.

Chesnaught fell over, utterly exhausted. Still, as I pulled him back into his ball, he looked at the devastation he'd caused, and released a triumphant roar.

My mind went to the others. Jirachi, Chansey, Slowbro, and Heatran glowed brightly before they each unleashed the massive multi-colored laser blasts of Hyper Beam. A tiny doll, a pink blob, a pink cat in a gray shell, and a lava monster, all unleashed the move sometimes dubbed, 'the city destroyer'. The dark forest came alight, and the trees around us disintegrated. Beastmen died in droves. Each of them kept it up for a while, before finally running out of power and falling down. I pulled back my now exhausted Pokemon, leaving me with Latias and Zapdos.

But I didn't need more than that. The horrific damage my Pokemon caused had given us an opening. The beastmen slinked back, their numbers crippled, giving us room to make our move.

Wonder Woman, Latias, and Zapdos came down together. Wonder Woman grabbed Kaldur under his shoulders while Superboy hopped onto Latias and I got on Zapdos.

"Tailwind." I told Zapdos.

Zapdos' eyes flashed. The wind suddenly gathered behind us, pushing us forward as we made our escape.

 **PYJ**

 **Author's Note:** So, the battle has begun. Hopefull that was fun. I enjoyed writing it personally. I loved the idea that, in a battlefield where energy blasts, lightning, tidal waves, and general chaos was going down, Wonder Woman was still the most dangerous. Keep in mind, this would have been true of most of the League members. I can't wait to continue the battle.

One thing you can guess is that Circe is different from the one in the comics. More powerful in some ways, weaker in others. The way I figure, a thousand year old witch with access to magic and a wish to increase it would be massively strong. One big difference is that she can make magical beasts, rather than turn mortals into them. Another is that she can summon the more powerful beings of myth to aid her. None of the simalcrum creatures in this chapter were her most powerful. So, big battles still ahead. Woot!


	25. Gods Among Us

_**Author's Note: This chapter is both late, and oddly written. It was fun, but something of a chore at points. Hopefully it comes across well. The big thing here is me trying to make sure Red isn't one hundred percent some grand chosen one. In many ways, this arc is supposed to make comments on the idea of chosen ones.**_

 _ **Anyways, here's the chapter, hope you all like it.**_

 **PYJ**

Tailwind is a great move. I've always had a love for the utility moves, the ones meant to control battlefield conditions to increase combat ability long-term, and Tailwind is a good example of that. It pushes allies to great heights in speed, giving them a critical edge when they need it. Imagine a constant gust around you, making all your movements that faster and more graceful.

In this case, it made us more than quick enough to simply outpace the beastmen. We left them behind as we flew through the air. My last sight of them was a bunch of bipedal monsters baying and howling in frustration in the forest below.

We didn't spend too much time flying. I had no idea if Circe had flying monsters, but bets were high, and I didn't want to end up facing harpies or something. Not yet anyways. We got to the edge of the village, and I hopped off of Zapdos. Superboy was let down from Latias, and Wonder Woman dropped Aqualad. I immediately put my head on a swivel.

The village in question had a very primitive feel to it. It was built from bricks, and there were small lots where I could see rows of dirt set aside for planting. Snow covered everything, and icicles hung from signs marked with oriental lettering. Chinese maybe. There were lights all over to illuminate the muddy snow on the roads, and massive amount of trash lay half buried in the ice. The streets were pretty empty, considering how cold the night was.

"Latias, you sense anything?"

My dragon looked around as well, closing her eyes after a moment. Only human minds. Not Circe or her animals.

"That doesn't mean anything." Wonder Woman noted. "Her beasts, when made from humans, can mask their thoughts, make them human. She did it after hearing of telepaths."

"What, she's crazy-prepared too?" I shook my head. "Well great, she's an ancient Harry Dresden."

"Who?" Superboy asked, confused.

"One of the best magic users in the multiverse." I answered blithely.

"Really?" Kaldur seemed intrigued. "I would like to hear about him."

"Yeah?" I looked over at him. I wasn't surprised he was so curious. Aqualad had revealed he was actually a pretty big nerd during our sessions with Batman. He had a real thirst for tactical knowledge of all kinds. And the thought of Aqualad with the magical expertise of Harry Dresden giving him a few tricks was enough to make me want to geek out like the nerd I was.

I pushed aside the thought to look over at Zapdos. I lifted my arms, still clad in the Shock Gloves, for it to look at. The Electric Pokemon rolled its eyes, but nodded. It released a short burst of lightning into each glove, recharging the batteries.

"All right. We need to get an idea of this village's resources. Most importantly, we need to start working on protecting the people." I stroked my chin thoughtfully, then stopped when I accidently shocked myself. Wincing, I dropped my hands again before looking over at Wonder Woman. "I'd prefer you be there for any meetings with the villagers. Having an internationally recognized superhero around should grease the wheels a bit. Latias will go with her to help her find each villager."

I reached for my Pokeballs. "While Wonder Woman and Latias deal with the populace, the rest of us will do recon, figure out if we can make this town defendable. In small groups probably."

After a moment of thought, I separated them into specializations. "Slowbro and Superboy," So Slowbro could support Superboy with his long range abilities. "Jirachi and Chansey," Jirachi would be able to zip around the field while Chansey dropped traps. "Zapdos in the sky," the badass bird of lightning would able to rain down hell anywhere in the field. "And Kaldur and Chesnaught." The two had great synergy, with Kaldur able to back Chesnaught sheer durability with speedy water blasts and sword slashes. "Keep in contact over the link."

Then I winced. "Also, sorry for being so bossy."

That comment got a laugh out of the others. Well, more chuckles then anything. I think we were all nervous.

Circe's opening move had been a Zerg Rush. Which was damn impressive, as opening moves go. With almost no time, she'd created an army, sent it out to test us, and came out without truly revealing anything about herself we didn't know.

"You guys know what to do." Jirachi, Slowbro, Chansey, and Chesnaught came out of their balls, leaving Heatran on my belt. "Break!"

The group of supernatural creatures and beings left in different ways, leaving me to my thoughts.

The Olympians had sent us here. And yet, none of them had done anything afterwards. I'd expected more interaction with them. So why weren't they doing anything?

Pushing away that worry, I walked into the village.

 **PYJ**

 **Slowbro**

Superboy landed on the ground with a crash. As he did, Slowbro popped out of the earth, looking around curiously. While he wasn't an Ice-type Pokemon, he still enjoyed the snow around them. The Pokemon looked over at Superboy.

"Slow?"

"No, I haven't seen anyone." While Superboy couldn't understand the Pokemon like Red could, Slowbro could send waves of psychic emotion to convey his meaning well enough. "I'm going up again."

Slowbro nodded. The Teen of Steel bent his legs before blasting off into the sky once more. The pink cat was going to dive into the earth, when he frowned.

It was a little known fact that the Shellder that hung on a Slowbro's tail was fully functional. Its eyes, ears, and mind were all joined to the Slowpoke it had bitten, strengthening its host in a display of symbiotic relationship. So when Slowbro sensed the new presence it was moments faster than the presence expected.

Slowbro pulled on the rage that was his power. He spun around and unleashed an Ice Beam. The laser-like blue beam refroze the melting snow as it passed, and it's light illuminated the dark streets in aqua-colored illumination.

The beam slamming into a palm with no effect was rather anti-climactic.

"Impressive." The being turned his hand around to gaze at his palm, eyes crinkling in curiosity. "A mortal would have been gravely injured by that." The being laughed, red eyes flashing within the darkness that his helmet turned the rest of his face into. "Does your master know you have such a violent streak within you?"

He did. Red had once spoken to Slowbro, trying to see if there was some deep secret to his anger. But Slowbro had explained things to his master/teacher/friend. Anger was simply his life. Other Slowbro were calm and placid. But Slowbro was always angry, and he loved his life that way. Red accepted it, and cared for Slowbro regardless, rather than turning him into something he was not.

Slowbro explained this, in the language of Pokemon. Not just the repetition of his name, but the subtler gestures, growls, and mental messages Red could translate.

The spiky armored not-human seemed to understand perfectly.

"…It seems I misjudged these mortals." He said, voice echoing in the shadows. Slowbro felt the voice touch at his anger, pull at it, put weathered the storm with long practice. "The Kryptonian fights with the relish of my greatest warriors. You and the Green Knight show similar skill. And even your master has the feel of a fighter, for all that he is one of my sister's generals."

The being crossed his arms. "So tell me Water Demon. Why should I support your master? Circe has promised me much. She has offered me the days of old. Generals from across the world bowing at my will, wars capable of fueling me for millennia, and wenches to please the appetites of the most spoiled of lechers. What has your master, which the Witch of Legend cannot offer?"

Slowbro stared at the spiky armored not-human. On some level, he had understood the situation. As much as he loved combat, his master had taken time to teach him that combat without purpose was insanity. Food, safety, protection, these were things a sane creature fought for. Love for combat was fine, but direction and purpose had long elevated Slowbro to heights beyond other Slowbro, to the very echelons of Mega-Evolution. Even now, as he faced this being, he could feel the Slowbronite on its sling, the link between himself and his master that allowed to challenge even the greatest Pokemon in history.

With the concept of purpose driving forward anger, he had listened when the situation had been explained, if only partially (In his defense, Jirachi had been cutely excitable in her explanation). Master and the Fairy-type human were in competition. The prize was new friends, the not-humans who were the Legendaries of humans. But the Fairy-type human would not treat her new friends well. They were more powerful than her, but she could trick them into doing evil things, the way many humans in his home universe could do to even the smartest Pokemon.

Master did not care about power. He'd explained that with his knowledge, he could make himself as strong as a Machamp, or fast as a Rapidash. But he needed to keep power from the Fairy-type human. She was like the other bad people, using Pokemon to try and control the world, or the ones here who used their powers the same way.

So this spiky armored not-human wanted to know why following master would be good. When master won, having a new friend who would listen would be good. Master could probably convince him with lots of walks and Poke Puffs, but Slowbro decided to show the being before him his point of view.

Slowbro focused his mind and Shellder's towards the task, conveying his emotions, feeling, and memories to try and make the being understand how Red worked, how he treated not just his Pokemon, but his enemies and allies.

Especially his enemies. Because in the end, Slowbro remembered the battles more than anything else, with the fondness of a child towards a favored toy.

Ares smiled suddenly at the flood of information entering his mind, eyes widening as the mere memory of the battles gave him power. "Interesting.

 **PYJ**

 _ **Kaldur**_

Kaldur cracked his neck as he walked. He frowned at the area around him. He'd seen snow a few times in his life. It didn't exist in Atlantis, precipitation being nonexistent at the bottom of the ocean, so he often found things surface-dwellers took for granted, like rain and snow, interesting.

Not this snow. This was muddy, smelled of trash and rotting food, and made him wish he wore shoes rather than wade through the disgusting stuff.

He looked over at Chesnaught. The massive bear looked very odd in this tiny village. He stood as tall as a single story, and his pristine white fur and green armor glittered in the night. He popped out against the landscape like a sore thumb, as surface dwellers said (For reasons Kaldur didn't understand.) As they walked, Chesnaught massive paws swung through the air, and his animal eyes narrowed at the world around him. Red had once shown Kaldur images of honey badgers, a predatory animal of small size, but incredible ferocity, and revealed the similarities between Chesnaught and the tiny mammal.

Times like this, when Chesnaught stood out amongst the background, the ferocity of his distant relative was obvious just under the surface.

"Anything?"

"Naught." Chesnaught took a whiff of the air to demonstrate, and shook his head. Then he pointed at the trees around him. "Chesnaught."

No scents, and the plant-life around them weren't 'telling' him anything. Kaldur suddenly frowned, realizing something.

Red, can you hear me? Nothing. Chesnaught, are you reading? The Pokemon didn't react at all.

"The link is gone." Kaldur said, hiding his nervousness under professionalism with ease. Fear was essential to survival, but only when controlled. He pressed the insignia on his belt to activate his electronic communications, only to get nothing but static. "Radio is out as well. Circe must have shut them down."

"Ches?" The massive Pokemon said, sounding shocked. Then he started, spinning his head around. At the same time, Kaldur looked at his right when his instincts screamed at him.

There, Kaldur saw a pond, sitting placidly in-between two brick buildings. It was around twelve meters around, iced over, and bits of trash were half-buried in the frozen water. As he watched however, the ice began to melt. Kaldur reached back for his water bearers, prepared to lash out.

Slowly, a blue glow took over the pond, stopping at the edges. The ice cracked like glass, turning into water once more. The trash littered in the water, chip bags and soda bottles, evaporated into dust, leaving crystal clear water behind. As Kaldur watched, the smell of sea salt sent a slight pang of homesickness through him.

Then three metal blades the color of sapphires rose from the pond. They rose, revealing that the spikes met at a golden shaft to become a trident. At the same time, the hand holding the trident followed. It was a powerful looking hand, tanned and youthful. As the owner of trident and hand rose from the water, he stood on the surface of the now clean pond as though it were solid ground.

"Lord Poseidon." Kaldur whispered. The fear was still controlled, but he couldn't help tightening his grip on the water bearers.

"Hmf. Calling me 'lord', as though your master hasn't treated me as an enemy ever since he cursed the seas with his presence." Pain shot through Kaldur as the sheer anger coming from the Olympian seemed to cut into him like the salt of the ocean slashing into skin. The tall sea elemental turned to look behind Kaldur. "And you Green Knight? What say you?"

Kaldur turned to look over his shoulder, thinking Poseidon was speaking to Chesnaught. Instead, he saw a man even taller than Chesnaught, and formed from green vines that gave him the look an enormously muscular man, step **out** of a tree. Swamp Thing.

" **I AM HERE AS A PRECAUTION."** Swamp Thing intoned deeply, his voice echoing almost soothingly. **"THOSE OF THE ANCIENT WORLD ARE NOW SPEAKING TO MORTALS ONCE MORE. THE CHANGE THAT HAS COME WILL RESONATE, THAT MUCH IS CLEAR. IF THAT THREAT EXTENDS TO THE GREEN, THEN I AM HERE TO DEFEND IT."**

As he spoke, Kaldur noticed the two beings were having an unnatural effect on the world around them. Trees, flowers, and bushes, once dead and covered in snow, were sprouting new leaves, growing larger and more vibrant. The flowers began to turn the once disgusting landscape into a riot of colors, reds, blues, purples, orange, all sprouting around the area.

The various irrigation channels and water ways suddenly seemed to flow with massive amounts of water. Despite the smell of salt, Kaldur could sense the water was as clear as though it had come from the sky. The trash and filth that clogged the channels evaporated, and snow melted off the city streets to join the water flowing past.

In seconds, the small village street had become a jungle. Even as the growth continued, Chesnaught and Kaldur listened to the powerful beings speak.

"This is about more than the damn Green!" Poseidon spat out, the bottom of his trident's shaft coming inches from slamming into the ground. Kaldur watched it warily, remembering that the trident had the power to create earthquakes. "These mortals wouldn't be alive if it weren't for us! We brought them out of nothing, gifting them with life, and asked for naught but their thankfulness! And what do they do!?"

Chesnaught and Kaldur suddenly fell to their knees when Poseidon's cutting voice become a razor blade in their minds.

" _ **They attack us, insult us, and worse…"**_ His voice saddened, becoming melancholy. "They forget us… I was once worshipped Green Knight. I protected the few sailors willing to brave the seas of my time, aided in giving them the bounty of my seas. I have fought titans, giants, and monsters from the deeps. And my reward is to be forgotten? To have that blowhard Neptune become worshipped in my place."

He clenched his fist. The simple motion sent the air shaking. "And now, I am to give my allegiance to a mortal. To fight at the side of one who doesn't even worship the gods. One whose _ally_ ," Poseidon glared at Kaldur, and Kaldur felt himself tighten his grips on his water bearers. "Is one of the very worshippers of Neptune. Why? As the River Styx flows, what is the reason I have been forgotten except as a legend, only to be told I must once bow to a mortal?"

The area was silent. Poseidon's words should have sounded almost pathetic. Instead, they sounded dangerous. Like standing within the calm of the hurricane, knowing this place of safety had danger all around.

"… **YOU ARE RIGHT."** Swamp Thing's voice seemed to echo off the newly grown leaves around them. **"THIS IS ABOUT MORE THAN THE GREEN. MORE THAN THE RED, THE OLYMPIANS, OR THE MORTALS. I FEEL THAT WE ARE BEING PULLED INTO A CONFLICT THAT WILL SPAN THE UNIVERSE. THIS MORTAL IS BUT A SMALL PIECE IN ALL OF IT."**

"What do you mean?" Kaldur asked. The powerful beings stared down at him. Somehow he knew despite ignoring him, they hadn't forgotten him. "Trainer Red is not important in all this?"

" **HE IS. BUT ONLY BECAUSE, LIKE THE HEROES OF AGES PAST, HE HAS CHOSEN TO STEP FORWARD."** Swamp Thing said. **"MUCH LIKE THE BATMAN, WHO IS INVOLVED IN EVENTS GREATER THAN HIMSELF, OR YOU, WHO CHOOSE TO COME HERE RATHER THAN STAY IN ATLANTIS."** Swamp Thing looked at Poseidon. **"THESE MORTALS ARE NOT ASKING YOU TO BOW. LOOK PAST YOUR ANGER POSEIDON. THEY HAVE STEPPED FORWARD, UNKNOWING OF THE DANGERS, AND CHOOSE TO STAND AGAINST THE COMING DANGERS. I DO NOT INTERFERE IN THE WORKS OF MORTAL MAN, YOU KNOW THIS. AND YET, THE COMING BATTLES CALL FOR ME TO STEP FORWARD AS WELL."**

"What is coming?" Despite his voice not echoing the way Swamp Things did, Poseidon's carried no less power. "What could require you, the Green Knight who refuses to leave his swamps, to step into the light?"

" **THE ROT."** Swamp Thing said slowly. **"JUST THIS THREAT IS ENOUGH. BUT IF THE REST ARE DANGEROUS TO BE MENTIONED IN THE SAME BREATH… IT MAY BE TIME TO STEP FROM THE SWAMPS."**

Kaldur sucked in a breath. "May I speak, my Lord Poseidon?"

Poseidon flicked his eyes towards Kaldur. Aqualad felt the weight of his gaze, but simply flexed his knees to take the load. After a moment, Poseidon nodded.

"I do not claim to know the full details of the threats to come." Kaldur looked back at Chesnaught. At his nod, Kaldur continued. "However, King Orin once spoke of the gathering of the Justice League. That to combat a greater threat, he and others joined forces, and continue to do so." He shook his head. "I can't help but believe that that example is worth following. I have read the legends of heroes like the Justice Society, and those of the ancient past like the Argonauts. My own team was brought together for similar purposes. We are a team, my Lord Poseidon. We work together to put down a threat we cannot take on alone. That, at its heart, is what I believe the prophecy is promising. Not servitude, but something more."

Poseidon did not respond. He stared at Kaldur. At that moment, staring into the eyes of Poseidon, Aqualad understood the difference between a mortal, and a being thousands of times greater. That gaze held more than the simple weight of emotion and thought. If he had been naked and paralyzed in a storm whose winds and raindrops were made of the sharpest blades, Kaldur could not have felt more vulnerable, more powerless. He stared into those eyes, and saw the eternity of the ocean.

King Orin had fought this? Had met eyes with it, and still had the strength to not only fight, but _win_? He felt a flood of warmth and awe towards his king and mentor.

Suddenly, Poseidon was gone. Kaldur frowned just a bit, but simply nodded once he was sure the weight of that powerful insane presence was gone.

"I do not believe I have convinced him of anything." Kaldur admitted. Something in that gaze said, with the surety of existence itself, that Poseidon had not been moved.

" **NOTHING WOULD HAVE CHANGED HIS MIND."** Swamp Thing said simple. **"EVEN IF TRAINER RED WINS, THERE WILL BE THOSE WHO NEVER TRULY LISTEN TO HIM. IT IS A CHALLENGE YOU AND YOUR COMPATRIOTS WILL HAVE TO FACE."**

"I… understand." Kaldur sighed in frustration, but nodded. "Regardless, I feel I must thank you for your support Swamp Thing. I cannot claim to understand your situation, but the fact you are aiding us is a blessing."

At least, Kaldur assumed it was. He had little knowledge on Swamp Things true power, as he was one of the beings in the world who was both notable enough to have a file in the League records, yet obscure enough that there was little mention of him. But the power he had demonstrated, bringing life to the plants with his mere arrival, was enough to show just what sort of being he was. Combined with Chesnaught's prior displays of the sort of power a plant-use could bring to bear, Kaldur felt confident in saying having Swamp Thing aiding them would be good.

" **I CANNOT TRULY AID YOU."** Kaldur blinked in surprise. **"I WAS ONCE HUMAN, SO I UNDERSTAND A LITTLE OF WHAT YOU ARE FEELING. I KNOW YOU WISH ME TO STAND AT THE SIDE OF HEROES, HELPING IN MATTERS BOTH PETTY AND LARGE. BUT I WILL NOT BE JOINING YOUR TEAM. I WILL COME WHEN I AM NEEDED. AND I WILL DECIDE WHEN THAT IS."** Swamp Thing stretched upwards, his full height towering over the others before him. **"I AM NATURE'S. AND NATURE ONLY MOVES BY ITS OWN WILL. CHESNAUGHT."**

The Pokemon cocked his head to the side.

" **REMEMBER WHAT I HAVE TOLD YOU. THE GREEN IS A FORCE OF GREAT POWER. BUT IT MUST BE PROTECTED. THE LESSONS I IMPARTED MUST BE PASSED ON, IF WE ARE TO HAVE A CHANCE."** He turned to Kaldur next. **"PREPARE. IF CIRCE WINS, I WILL STILL AID YOU. BUT THE OLYMPIANS ARE TREATING THIS BATTLE AS MORE THAN A SIMPLE SKIRMISH. THE ACTIONS OF YOU ALL ARE BEING JUDGED. EVEN IF YOU WIN, THERE WILL BE THOSE LIKE POSEIDON WHO WILL REFUSE TO TRULY ADKNOWLEDGE YOU. YOU MUST SILENCE THEM. AND ONLY POWER WILL DO THAT."** The massive green form of Swamp Thing stilled. The once emerald vines making up his body began to lose color, and the intense feeling of pressure on Kaldur's skin started to fade.

Once the now lifeless form of Swamp Thing slumped down, Kaldur took a breath.

He'd learned more about this conflict than Poseidon may have wanted. More and more, he was starting to understand that to the Olympians, this battle was part of greater one. Poseidon represented those who were insulted at the very idea of working with mortals. Swamp Thing seemed more willing to aid them, not as prideful as Poseidon. The two were most likely reflective of the current split of opinion for the various powers.

And yet, there was also the fact that Kaldur was getting the sense they were all being used as part of this opinion. In the end, the difference between the minds of mortals and immortals, that yawning gap that made such beings hard to decipher, made understanding what the thought-process of the gods problematic.

"Ches." Kaldur looked over at Chesnaught. The Pokemon nodded forward, eyes filled with determination. "Chesnaught."

Apparently he wanted to move on. Kaldur nodded back. While Chesnaught clearly understood that whatever had just happened was of some import, Kaldur had to agree. The current battle was what mattered.

The building next to him exploded. Aqualad turned, eyes narrowing as a monster the size of an orca whale came out of the large brick house like something from a nightmare, snorting in rage. If it wasn't for meeting Poseidon and Swamp Thing, the horn on its nose might have slammed into him.

But the encounter with the two beings, despite having no violence, had been tenser than even the greatest battles Kaldur had been in. His instincts had been on high alert, and he leaped upward as the creature charged, letting the gray being go under him as flipped over it.

Kaldur took stock of the beast as he came down into a landing. The beast was larger than Chesnaught by a few centimeters. It had thick grey skin that seemed to overlap into plates, and wore tattered rags. A massive horn sat on its face, revealing it to be a rhino beastman.

At the same time, another beastman charged Chesnaught, this one shaped like a pig. Chesnaught roared, charging right back at the squealing porcine beastman. Kaldur simply stilled his mind, reaching out to the water around him, and slashing out at the rhino with a scimitar shaped blade.

 **PYJ**

 _Jirachi_

Chansey was soooo slow. She was still faster than humans, but her funny walk made her so hard to go places with!

Jirachi pouted, her cheeks ballooning with air as she floated above her friend. Come on, Chansey! Master wants us to hurry!

Chansey cocked an eyebrow, striding steadily down the alleyway they were in. "Chans."

Okay, he didn't say that, but don't you want to finish quickly!? Jirachi wiggled in place, eyes widening at the agonizing pace her friend was taking.

"Chansey." The motherly Pokemon waved at Jirachi, indicating she could continue.

Jirachi sighed in response. Honestly, she was bored. The battle earlier was fun, and there were sooo many things to fight! They were dumb, but they made nice crunchy noises when they broke, and she really liked that! Even Master fought, and that was funny to watch, because he did it with electric powers. And Kaldur used his swords, and Wonder Woman was flying around so beautifully!

Jirachi wiggled in place happily at the memory of the fun.

But now they were doing boring things. Important things were almost always boring. Why couldn't things like snacks and video games and fighting and theoretical physics be important all the time?

Still, they hads to do it, so Jirachi waited for her friend to finish walking.

At that moment, the minds of the others were gone.

Huh? Jirachi looked around, surprised. The link had been shut down. Latias, Master, Kaldur, she couldn't sense them. In fact, she couldn't sense anything. Chansey?

Nothing. Chansey was mere feet from her, and she couldn't feel her.

Jirachi panicked. She'd never felt this before. Even when she'd fought Dark-Types, she'd had her link. That comforting warmth of another mind pressed against hers. To her, telepathy was the same as sight or hearing.

Master! The scream of her voice went unheard. She couldn't feel anyone. She couldn't even be heard.

Jirachi was alone again.

Chansey stared in shock as Jirachi began to cry out.

"Jirachi! Jirachi!" The tiny Pokemon, normally so full of joy, seemed scream in fear and rage. Her eyes turned white. The psychic power inside her flowed outwards like a water released from a dam, filling the air around her with a kaleidoscope of energy. Chansey rushed forward, ignoring the danger of the psychic waves of power slamming into her. She wrapped her arms around her smaller friend, not even wincing as the massive power within Jirachi began to press against her skin.

"Chansey." The pink nurse said softly. "Chansey."

Jirachi hugged Chansey back, crying out in fear and anger at the sudden loss of sensation, at the feel of the people closest to her suddenly being ripped away. And Chansey simply held her close.


	26. Blackest Night

_Latias_

As she flew over the village below with Diana, Latias gasped in horror. One minute she had been giving Master a report. The next he was gone. Everyone was gone.

She banked around on the wind, ready to inform Diana of what had happened, only to realize that without the link, she couldn't speak to her. She froze in the air, paralyzed with indecision.

Diana continued flying, but circled back when she noticed Latias had stopped. She floated back towards the Psychic/Dragon-Type Pokemon, concern on her features.

"Latias? What's wrong?" Wonder Woman pressed a hand to Latias' cheek. She responded by nuzzling against her the soft palm, trying to get some sort of connection to replace the loss of her telepathy.

"Lati, Latias." She tried to explain. She knew it wouldn't work, that only Master was able to understand Pokemon speech, but she had to try, to let her know—

"I see." Diana sighed. "So Circe has shut down our link." Not noticing the stunned look on Latias' face, she reached for her ear and tried to activate her ear bud, only to shake her head at the sound of static. "And she has done the same with our electronic communications. I imagine more magical or spiritual attempts would be shut down as well."

"Latias?" At her stunned question, Diana turned to give her a smile.

"I was given the ability to understand any language. While it has taken me some time, I do understand you Latias."

Latias was going to declare her surprise and delight over the event in question, only to hear thunder resound. The smell of ozone filled the air, metallic on the nose. Blue and yellow lightning began to crack across the skies, power pressing down on them like a heavy weight across the shoulders.

"Lat." Latias declared, her voice heavy with foreboding, knowing instinctively that Zapdos was one of the causes of the sudden storm.

"Zeus." Diana said. She turned Latias. "It seems the gods are not content to simply watch this battle." She sighed, shaking her head. "I suppose it makes sense. I worry for the others. With communications down, we don't know what could happen."

The Princess of Truth frowned suddenly. She put her hand out, then clenched her fist. Latias blinked, confused at the odd gesture.

Then a monster slammed into Wonder Woman's arm. The loud sound of flesh slamming into an arm as hard as diamond filled the air, and the clotheslined creature fell to the ground far below.

"Latias!" The red dragon squeeled in shock.

"Harpies." Wonder Woman mumbled, staring at the monster floating down towards the ground. It had the head and torso of a naked woman, and what looked like black feathered versions of the wings and talons of an Archeops in place of arms and legs.

Suddenly, the skies were filled with the things. They cackled as they flew.

Latias narrowed her eyes. When a harpie attacked her, expecting a fleshy soft target, it was instead blasted by fire as hot as any of Latias' relatives.

" **CREEEEE!"** The Flamethrower left the harpy scorched in flames.

"LATIAS!" In the end, sweet as she was, Latias was a Pokemon. More than that, she was a **Dragon-type**. Her ancestors, in every universe, were the feared lords of the skies. That ancient bloodline, coalescing in Latias, made her cry of challenge something far more than simple noise.

Latias roared, soaring into combat at Mach-1.

Wonder Woman chuckled as she watched Latias begin to unleash hell. "A true Amazon response." She flew in after Latias, removing her lasso to grab one of the harpies and use it as a bludgeon agains the others.

 **PYJ**

The claws that ran along my back skipped across the surface of the armored plate in my coat. I ran faster, leaping off the roof I'd found myself on. High above, a burst of flame flew across the sky, and a dark figure came alight. Lightning illuminated my landing zone, and I rolled as I fell, using the parkour I'd learned from Wildcat to my advantage.

A loud roar shook my bones. I went for a house, praying desperately for it to be unlocked. The knob turned.

I entered the house and immediately ducked when a shotgun barrel filled my sights.

The ear protection I wore proved its worth when the sound of the gun going off above me didn't deafen me.

I grabbed the guy who'd shot at me by his shirt and rolled into the next room. He cured in his language, screaming at what he though was me assaulting him.

Up until the massive lion beast man slashed his way into the door, roaring.

A lion's roar can be heard for ten miles around. The second I realized that these things were coming after me, I'd made it a point to put in the above mentioned ear protection.

"Run!" I cursed, leaping up to punch the lion in the face. "Just go!"

The sound of tearing clothes behind me told me I'd failed once more. A second roar, this time a bear, sounded out as the guy I'd tried to save had been turned into a beastman.

Just like the lion, who had tattered pieces of clothes on his body.

Almost the moment the telepathic link had been shut down, every male human being in my vicinity started transforming beast hybrids.

What the hell happened to me that my life can involve such a sentence?

Anyways, where was I? Oh right. The lion beastman in front of me, roaring as he shook off the pain of being hit by a metal gauntlet covered in electricity. And a bear beastman behind me, halfway through his transformation. Not to mention the dozens of other roaming the streets, with the addition of my link with the others not working.

The lion leaped. He was faster than could be believed. But not Kid Flash fast, and that was enough to let me duck his claws as he slashed for my throat, reaching for my waist. I rolled, then leaped for the door.

My plan wasn't coming along well. I'd been sure that I'd be able to find what I needed. This battle had to end, before more villagers got turned, or hurt. I was lucky that the women and children seemed content to hide in fear as their fathers, husbands, and oldest sons hunted me down, but it wouldn't be long before the option of hostage taking opened up for them.

I exited onto the streets, leaping over the wolf beastman who rushed me. With as much speed and agility as I could, I booked it through the streets. Roars, howls, and growls split the night, and my heart beat like an insane drummers as I leaped and dodged the claws and teeth.

" _You and me, we aren't super anything."_ Ted's voice came from my memories as I rolled under an elephants massive legs. _"All we got is what the good lord gave us. So one day, when you're dodging every damn monster in the world, you'll be damn glad that I made you do this. One lap around New York. Then do it again, and keep doing it. Don't give me that look. You'll thank me one day."_

"Still not thanking you damn it!"

Despite my attempt at levity, the stress was getting to me. Running through the dark night, feeling claws smack my armor and split the skin on my arms when I made a bad dodge.

I'd felt fear, and I knew it well. I could push past it, let it fuel me rather than control me. But damn if I wasn't praying for a break as I punched another muzzle and leaped over another massive furred creature wearing the tattered rags of the human he'd once been.

My world was claws, darkness, cold snow, and blood pouring from wounds as muscles burned.

Then, as I rushed into an open space between buildings, I got my break.

Silence. No more roars. I took a breath, listening closely. When I didn't hear anymore beastmen, I reached into my bag and grabbed a Super Potion. Looking around frantically, I rested against a wall and looked over my body.

My clothes had held up well. It was pretty torn up, revealing places where armor lay under the layers of Kevlar, with deep claw marks.

Blood poured from the claws that had hit my bare arms, and I could feel more blood from a wound on my chin. Maybe nine in all, with some deep enough that I could see the white of bone. I held back a scream as the pain that was once held back by adrenaline filled me.

"Fuuuuu—" I cut myself off, instead spraying the contents of the orange bottle in my hand over the wounds. The slight sting of the chemicals inside hitting my exposed wounds was followed by relief. There was still blood, and I was still tired, but at least the wounds were closing, and pain was no longer in the way of my thoughts.

When I looked up, there was a throne in the clearing.

To be clear, there hadn't been one. The 'clearing' was really just a small space at a crossroads of two alleys. And now, in the center, a large throne of the same marble made famous in Greek architecture now sat.

Circe was smirking at me from her seat. She was lounging lazily, one leg over the other as she rested back into the stone. She looked very dramatic, though I had to wonder how comfortable the stone really was.

We started at each other. My face was neutral, though I was anything but. Circe was still smirking, the expression full of confident arrogance.

"Nothing to say, mortal?" Her voice punctured the silence between us like a knife entering a belly.

"…Why do you do that?"

She cocked her head, still smirking. "Do what?"

"Hate on mortals?" I pushed away from the wall behind me. "Seriously. It's kind of cliché."

"Is it now?" She chuckled, her voice filling the air. The fact her body seemed to twist just so as she chuckled drew my eyes to the lines of her form. She really was beautiful. But I kept my appreciation of her in control.

Her eyes met mine as she finished laughing. "I do not _hate_ mortals. I pity them." She sighed slightly. "I was one once. Before I came into true power. I know their fears, their anger, the sadness of their short, pitiful lives."

A beastman came from the shadows behind her. I watched as it came around to reveal it as black panther wearing the tattered remains of a shirt with some sort of logo on it. The former man rested his head under Circe's hand, letting her pet it.

"You see?" She asked, running a hand through ink-black fur. "One little spell, and normal men become the playthings of greater beings." She laughed. "Even you, with your powerful beasts, are ultimately meaningless in the grand scales of the world."

Purple eyes blazing with power met mine. "Mortals like you are meant to serve their betters. Some, like myself, can attain the greatness of the Gods. The rest are cattle, labor, and victims."

She rose to her feet. "I am _Circe_. I survived the ends of civilizations that existed for millennia. I stood naked against the horrors of existences a thousand times your greater, and made them _my_ power. You stand against me with the favor of beings you should be bowing too, and wish to claim the title that is mine by centuries of conquest."

I met eyes with the Witch as she spoke. "Surrender. Leave this battle. Take your horrendous beasts. And I won't track you down after this battle and turn you into a slave."

They weren't just words. There was finality, a horrendous deadly certainty to her words. The air was filled with power. If I left this village without surrendering, than win or lose I would have made an enemy. An enemy more dangerous than all the rest I'd ever faced in this universe. I'd spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder. After a night of hearing men tear through the houses of their loved ones to attack me, I knew full well that Circe could turn my life into living hell.

If I didn't surrender. If I did though…

"So… If I don't surrender." I stroked my chin. "Then you become my enemy."

"Yes."

"…Like a nemesis?"

She blinked at the hopeful tone of my voice. "…Yes?"

"…Well hell. I always wanted a nemesis." Under the fear, I couldn't help but smile when I realized there was honesty to the statement. "I mean, it's sort of a part of superhero rules, that you don't become a real one until you have a nemesis."

"You're mocking me." She had stopped smirking.

"Not as much as you're mocking me." I scowled. "You're asking me to surrender? Do you even understand what is wrong with that statement? No you don't."

I stepped forward. The black panther growled warningly. I glared at it until it shut up and slunk behind its mistress nervously.

"This univers is _full_ of threats that would turn you into charred meat! Beings from beyond creation, armies as numerous as the stars! And I'm not being poetic, I mean this shit literally! God, you've known so much more than other people that you're convinced you can't learn anything else! You can drop as many badass boasts as you want, but when Darkseid comes and smashes your spine across his knee, you'll understand how pathetic we all are."

"You dare—!?"

"No, _you_ dare!" I pointed upwards, yelling as I spoke. "You aren't ready! No one is! I _know_ what is out there, and I'm still terrified! The whole world could step up to the plate, and we'll still die screaming as our minds swear fealty to a being a thousands times beyond us!"

She didn't understand. Hell, I didn't blame her. Even I didn't understand. No matter how many comics I'd read, it didn't compare to standing before a beast who devoured planets and fully understanding the horrers you're about to face.

"But at least I can give us a chance!" I shook my head. "Weapons, allies, and tools. I know where they are, how to get them. You have a lot of power, but that won't be enough. Unless you can tell me you can destroy solar systems. Can you?"

She was no longer listening. She'd already launched a ball of purple flame at me, screaming in rage. The black panter sprinted forward as flames that somehow devoured all light came at my face. Panicking, I stumbled back.

Heatran saved my life. I'd had her Dig beneath the ground to wait for Circe. My plan had been to figure out where she was and use the link to let the others know what was going on. Then the link had disappeared, leaving me with no way of contacting anyone. Thus, I had no way to tell Heatran where I was, and ended up alone with none of my Pokemon.

But now, just before a ball of eldritch flame could turn me to ash, Heatran burst from the ground between me and the fire. She roared as lava flew up around her, the sound shaking the world.

The fire hit her. And disappeared, leaving Heatran to shake off the lava from her body and glare at a shocked Circe and panther beastman.

I laughed. I couldn't help it. When Circe looked at me, I shrugged. "It's not very effective."

Her eyes narrowed, which made me want to laugh again, the way you do it when you feel hope on the horizon.

"So how about it Circe?" I pointed at her. "Our eyes met. That means you have to battle me."

The panther rushed forward.

"Heatran, use Yawn." As I spoke, I leaped over to intercept the panter.

Heatran barked, then, well, yawned. A small cloud of smoke came from her mouth, pink in color. It flew over to hit the panther. He breathed it in, but ignored it otherwise. Then I was in his face. He clawed at me, which I took over one of the plates of armor on my chest, before ducking under a punch from me.

That was enough for the odd smoke to do it's work. He blinked, surprised when lethargy filled his body.

Yawn. A Pokemon move where a small cloud of anesthetic gas is unleashed. It only works slowly, but it has incredible accuracy.

And now it was proving its usefulness. The panther blinked rapidly, growling as it tried to stay up. So I punched in the face a few times.

As the former human fell asleep, I looked over at Circe. She cocked an eyebrow. "No wish to kill your fellow man?" She smirked. "Then I won't give you a choice."

In the shadows around us, eyes began to open. Eyes of all shapes and colors, all glaring at me and Heatran.

"And then I must wonder if your allies will show the same restraint."

I stared around, fists clenching, and Heatran glared around.

"Only until fainting girl!" With that declaration, claws and tooth's descended upon us. Heatran blasted the incoming horde with fire, and I punched a Minotaur in the face.

Help would come. It had to come. We had Circe here. If we took her smug ass out, the whole fight would be over. We just had to survive.

Help would come.

The armor on my chest shattered under a blow. A cut opened on my eyebrow. Heatran roared, soaking a bipedal elephant in fire, but was forced to hold back from killing it, allowing a lion to scratch at her. It didn't do much damage, but a small scratch in her tough red skin opened up.

Help would come.

I wrapped my hands around the face of a crocodilian beastman. We screamed as one while electricity poured into him. I felt blood pour over my face, splilling into my mouth. Fire sprayed all around us, earth exploded, and metal beams of light slammed into beings. It wasn't enough. Surrounded by beastmen that we simply couldn't kill for the sake of the innocent men they'd once been, we were falling apart.

Help would come.

Heatran supported me as she growled. My shock gloves ran out of juice, leaving me with a tough pair of gauntlets. I punched yet another lion beastman, apparently Circe's favorite, and got clawed in the stomach. My armor split under the blow, and pain came from my abdomen. Heatran blasted the lion with a beam of fire, sending him screaming. I ignored him in favor of the eagle beastman that tackled me off Heatran, and focused on pummeling it.

Help would come.

Please.

 **PYJ**

Jirachi flew through the streets, carrying Chansey in a telepathic bubble.

Master was somewhere in the village. And she had to find him.

Chansey was giving her an odd look as Jirachi flew at incredible speed. Jirachi ignored her.

Jirachi would save her Master.

No matter what.

 **PYJ**

 **PYJ**

Kaldur almost killed him. A Beastman attacked, a strange pig dog hybrid. Yet another in a pile.

Until he noticed the jeans hanging on it's legs.

With a flash of will his razor sharp swords went from slashing the beastman's throat to turning into maces that sent the beastman flying back with missing teeth.

"Careful!" Kaldur called out. "They're hum—!"

He stopped and stared. Chesnaught had been fighting alongside him. Now the Green Knight had a clawed fist in one of the beastmen. A beastman who wasn't disappearing.

The beastman, a doglike being, coughed up blood in shock. Chesnaught looked into its eyes, surprised in his own.

Slowly, the dog began to change. Until, finally, a man appeared. He stared, terrified as he choked on his own blood. Slowly, he began to quiet. Until silence came at last, with one final breath heralding it's arrival.

"Che…" Chesnaught dropped the body, horrified.

"…Chesnaught."

Kaldur had no answer for him.

 **PYJ**

 **Author's Note:** Hopefully I conveyed just how sudden the death of that man came to all three of them. Chesnaught was probably one of the three most likely to cause a death, sadly. H'es one of the ones who'd better be able to handle the idea as well, but it's going to shake him.

Also, the gods won't care. The rule of no killing was only for the participants. They don't care about a man dying, or a fatherless family, or a traumatized Pokemon. Just if anyone _useful_ died or not.

Finally I hope I conveyed how everyone is doing well. Wonder Woman and Latias would be fine. Wonder Woman can take out hundred of beastmen, knock them all out, and drink tea all at once. Circe would need to break out a few big weapons to make Diana work for her victory.

Red, on the other hand, is a normal man, with a single Pokemon, trapped against an endless horde that he refuses to kill. I wanted him to get hurt, because that's exactly how it would go down.

Jirachi is looking for her Master. And Chesnaught has killed his first human.

Gonna be a long night.

Also, Zapdos is talking to Zeus. Oh boy oh boy.


	27. Final Blows

Blood poured down my lips. My muscles burned. Under the metal gauntlets that protected my hands, my knuckles were bleeding. My armor had long since shattered in dozens of places. I'd used so many potions that I sometimes found myself dodging the various orange and white spray bottles on the floor.

Heatran roared in rage, in joy, in sheer unadulterated power, and the skies came alight with yet another burst of fire. My babygirl was a Pokemon. She was a sweetheart, but Pokemon were born and bred for combat, and she was in the thick of it. Massive metal jaws clamped on fur, and her powerful neck snapped from side to side as she used Bite on opponents. More claws slammed into her, scratching at her molten skin and metal guards.

I rolled next to her, spraying yet another Super Potion on her, then rolled out of the way of another of Circe's blasts.

She'd been doing that the whole battle. Simply staying on the edge of the fight and letting out blasts of energy. So far I was very thankful to discover that none of her blasts could really harm Heatran.

In the Pokemon games, a type called Fairy was recently added. Representing magic within the Pokemon universe, the only real defense against them is Poison… Fire, and Steel Pokemon.

Heatran was Fire/Steel. She was pretty damn invulnerable to Fairy-type attacks.

I hadn't been sure if it would work the same in this universe. There had been no indication that magic users in the DC Universe couldn't affect metals, and in fact they did very well against it in most cases I'd seen. But apparently whatever rules governed the Pokemon Universe were still in effect for Heatran.

The claws of the beastmen had physical force, but none of the incredible sharpness that let them slice through Kryptonian flesh. Circe could shake Heatran up, but not straight up hurt her.

Which left me. Even with Heatran, whose incredible speed and durability let her protect me, I still ended up using more of the boxing skills Ted imparted on me than I ever had in my life. I punched, ducked, and blocked on a near constant basis. My world was fire and blood. At one point I found myself biting into the flesh of a piglike beastman, and found a crazed part of me wondering if it counted as eating pork.

This was the terror of a Zerg Rush. An overwhelming army of beasts. They didn't have to be strong individually. They just had to be _enough_.

And while Ted had made me good enough that I could take on one, there seemed to be _hundreds._

Then an elephant beastman took my arm. I punched him uselessly in the trunk. He broke my arm.

I screamed. Heatran roared.

And the thunder came.

All around, the world suddenly became an electric landscape. Someone was screaming.

I realized it was me.

"Don't kill them!" I felt my throat become raw. "They're innocent! No killing!"

Still the lightning crashed. My gloves suddenly clicked, recharged by the power around me. By the mere _presence_ of the power. Beastmen fell to the ground, roaring in pain.

Circe flew upwards, only her green dress flashing past indicating where she was going. Zapdos, glowing with power, flew to meet her. The two crashed in a storm of purple flames and electricity. The explosion of their meeting sent me flying backward, rolling. Heatran stopped me, barking. She unleashed a Flash Cannon at Circe, a scary face coming with the attack. The Witch lifted a hand surround in odd glyphs that floated around her palm, blocking the blast with a wince of pain. Her other hand was countering Zapdos' lightning as he sent a wave of thunder before unleashing his full attack. She floated on nothing, holding back two Legendary Pokemon, the pinnacle of all Pokemon, one of whom was powering through her defenses.

She was winning.

The thought shocked me. Circe was standing against two of the more powerful beings in Pokemon history, with Heatran holding an advantage over her and both enhanced by the items I'd given them, and yet she was keeping them back. She smirked, shaking her head.

"Such power…" her eyes didn't exactly glow, but they seemed to shine a bit brighter. "These beings… Truly, they are worthy of the greater legends of this world," Circe laughed. "I am impressed. Trainer Red is your name, yes?"

She looked at me. "I will show you power now. Feel grateful. Only my amusement at your perseverance has made me do this."

She exploded. Heatran roared. Zapdos didn't make a sound, he only glared as Circe blasted him with his own power, sending him back into the air before he righted himself. From the cloud of purple smoke that marked her, Circe flew forth.

I only saw a blur. Then she had me. One hand grabbed my broken right arm. I didn't scream. Her other hand was choking me too hard to allow that.

Heatran blasted her with another Flash Cannon, the laser-like line of silver power slamming into her side. Circe didn't flinch, simply staring into my eyes. Zapdos flew above, trying to get a bead on me, but he couldn't strike with hitting me as well.

"Feel that?" said Circe softly. Her fingers pressed against my skin. "That is your trachea. I could pop it like a balloon. Make you choke on your own blood," she chuckled, grinding the bones of my broken arm together. I tried to scream, only to wheeze instead. "This is what mortality is. To know death will come, and be powerless to stop it. This is the truth I have escaped. The one all pathetic beings like you must face. You have faced a goddess, Trainer Red. And yet, it was useless. What say you now, Trainer Red? What great words have you for me?"

She lessened her grip on my throat. I choked down air, black spots leaving my vision. She stared into my eyes, her beautiful face calm and patient. Finally I spoke.

"I wonder… Do you bleed?" Circe blinked. Despite the pain in my body, I smirked. "You will."

My right arm was broken. My left, on the other hand, was working. So I punched her in the nose, as hard as I could.

My Shock Glove, recharged by Zapdos' assault, unleashed the full package of its power into Circe's face.

" **EEEEEEEEE** —!"

She dropped me, and I collapsed like a house of cards. The snow had long since melted off the ground, leaving me to collapse into hot mud.

It felt amazing.

My left glove opened a compartment in its side, spilling out a spoking heap of plastic. Its battery, now melted. I'd overdone it.

Circe reeled back, clutching her nose. Zapdos immediately blasted her with more power than I'd ever seen. Heatran unleashed a Flamethrower, soaking the Witch with fire hot enough to melt stone. Circe screamed again, in rage and pain. She blindly point a hand at me, blue lights dancing on her fingers.

" **Jirachi."**

Something happened.

Yeah, sorry. Maybe it was the pain. Maybe it was the blinding lights. All I know, is that reality seemed to hiccup. And then Circe was blasted backwards like she'd been shot out of a cannon.

A tiny form hit my chest. I gasped in pain, but hugged it immediately. "Jirachi."

She was crying. I could feel the wetness spill into the different holes bitten and slashed into my armor, salt water stinging my skin.

"Ji, Jirachi," said my smallest Pokemon. She wrapped her ribbons around me, holding herself close.

"Hey, it's okay," I was panicking internally as she cried against me. Never been good with crying girls. "I'm here. Everything's okay."

"No," Circe's voice said softly. "No. Nothing is okay."

She was getting up. When she looked over at us, I couldn't hold back a wince.

Her right arm was hanging limply, twisted oddly. Her nose was blackened. And her eyes were visibly glowing. She was wounded, more seriously than any point in the battle. Whatever Jirachi had done, it had clearly hurt her. Just not enough to finish her.

"I… am a goddess," said Circe through gritted teeth. "And I will not be made a fool of by an arrogant boy and his damn **pets!** "

Purple flames erupted from her body, making her seem less like a woman and more a force of nature. Heatran and Zapdos came alongside me as we faced Circe. I struggled upwards, trying to fight past my wounds. Then I gasped.

A bright glow surrounded me. Bones snapped back into place. The cuts across my body closed, leaving only scars in their place. The headache that had filled me disappeared.

"Chansey," I turned to look at the pink nurse as she waddled over, her hands glowing, and eyes filled with worry. "Chans?"

"Heh," I patted her on the head with my now healed right hand, keeping the other on Jirachi, getting a small smile. "Thanks, Chansey."

"Jirachi?" the tiny Pokemon floated away, blinking away tears.

"We're almost done," with a deep sigh, we looked over at Circe. Heatran on my left, Chansey and Zapdos on my right, and Jirachi floating before me.

"Indeed, we are," Circe walked towards us. Where she stepped, the ground faded. It didn't melt, or get destroyed. It simply faded, as though her bare feet were destroying the world around her. Toes pressed against thin air, calves flexed with every step, hips swayed, her chest rose and fell with every breath, and her eyes glowed with a light that wasn't light. "I'm going to kill you. Maybe not here. But will beat you until you can't move, and once the gods accept that I am to lead them, I will flay you alive. You and your Pokemon will become the first corpses to follow my new reign."

"…Scary," was my response. "But I don't think it'll be happening that way. Jirachi, Protect."

Circe blasted out a beam of sickly green energy. Where it passed, the air and ground seemed to recoil, with veins of the poisonous energy filling the world. Then it crashed on a wall of telekinetic energy, stopping.

"See, this battle was not _just_ a battle," I spat some blood to the side, left in my mouth after Chansey's healing. "It was a job interview. From the very start, it was a job interview. And that is what I was doing. Impressing my new bosses. Zapdos, Protect."

Another blast flew at me, this one a bright golden color. It pulled in the world around like some sort of black hole. A burst of electromagnetic power created a shield around us, forcing back the odd energy. I continued. Circe wasn't listening anymore, too filled with rage.

That was fine. She wasn't the one I was really speaking too.

"I did my best to represent each of the Olympians in this fight. Ares and Athena through war. That's why I fought myself while still planning things out. I had to be both soldier and general. Heatran, Protect."

This time Circe leaped at me, eyes turned into something inhuman. She slammed into a barrier of silver-white energy reminiscent of polished metal.

"Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon, I represented with lightning, earth, and water, using them all in combat with as much power as possible. So on and so forth. While you chased me, I left little tokens everywhere to represent the mother, wife, and lovers of the Olympians. Hestia, Hera, and Aphrodite." I'd done it when that guy shot at me. Even as he did so, I left a ring woven from a flower I'd found. The gift a child gives their mother, the ring that seals man and wife, and the flower given to lover. "I did my best to remember this battle isn't about me. It's about the future that is coming. I want to stand with the Olympians, aid them however I can. Win or lose, that is what I offered."

She tore through the barrier. Landing on the ground, Circe lashed out with claws of purple fire attached to her fingers.

"Chansey, Protect!" the barrier almost came up too late. Luckily I'd been able to shriek out the order on time, but the sight of purple claws slamming into a force field inches from my face made me flinch.

"But that isn't what you want!" I roared in her face as she clawed at Chansey's Protect. "You just want power! Over and over, clutching at something you already have! You'll never have enough! Immortal, with magic beyond creation, with the looks, the wealth, and everything! But it's never enough, is it!? You wanted the Olympians themselves!"

" **The Gods will be mine,"** Circe didn't yell, but the dark promise of in her voice filled the air.

"No. No they won't. Superboy, Mega Punch."

The Teen of Steel punched Circe in the face. She was an immortal superbeing. But a Kryptonian punch, half or not, is something beyond powerful, and she staggered back, screaming with rage.

"What up?" I asked him cheekily as he landed.

Superboy gave me a small smirk. He was covered in small scratches and bite marks, and his left eyes was bruising up nicely. "I feel good."

"You battle-maniac," His widened smile would have made Miss Martian melt. Possibly literally.

" **Aaaahhhh!"** With an explosion of power, Circe attacked once more. I felt my skin begin to scorch just from being near the pressure of her attack. She floated upwards. Zapdos attacked her, it's eyes glowing as the Bird of Instinct unleashed electrical power. Jirachi wiped her tears away and unleashed a blast of telekinetic force. Heatran opened her mouth, lava surrounding Circe in its heat.

The three powerful attacks were easily blocked by a wall of purple flames in front of Circe

"That's…" Superboy stared in shock. "Uh oh."

"I know," was all I could say at the disheartening sight the superpowered attack being blocked.

The bracelet on my left wrist, just above my shock glove, began to glow with a cascade of rainbow colors. And a jet of water with enough power to slice through mountains joined my Pokemon's attack.

"Slow!" Slowbro cried triumphantly as he stood on his tail, his Shellder surrounding him in it's protective armor.

Circe's wall of fire fell. She screamed in rage, replacing it with the green poison from earlier. She blasted with a bolt of brown fire at Jirachi, apparently expecting an easy target. Jirachi took the blow easily, then narrowed her eyes and attacked once more.

"Heatran, Jirachi, use Flash Cannon!" The two Steel-typed Pokemon unleashed the laserlike bolts of power at the same time. They sliced through the poison wall, slamming into Circe. She'd been able to hold back Heatran's Flash Cannon with some effort earlier, but two of them slammed into her shoulder. Blood flew as they slice into immortal skin.

"Told ya you'd bleed. Slowbro, Iron Tail!"

He span like a top, launching at Circe. She dodged the blow, spinning aside and unleashing a blast of electricity at him.

"Zapdos!"

It flew in front of the blast, absorbing the electricity like a sponge. Circe moved her hand in a shoveling motion, and the ground in front of Zapdos flew at him. He dodged into the air and launched another blast of electricity at her. She blocked it with her left hand.

Superboy made his move, roaring as he leape towards her. She took the blow to her face, then kicked him in the stomach. He gasped in pain, falling to the ground.

"Jirachi!"

An invisible hand pulled Superboy back as Circe sliced at the place his hand once was. She tried to attack again, but a blast of water hit her. It didn't harm her, but it distracted her for a bit.

Noting that the blast didn't come from Slowbro, I turned to see Aqualad and Chesnaught hop off a nearby building to land near us.

"Good to see you fe… Chesnaught?" he flinched. I think he'd been trying to hide it. But his pain was… I'd never seen him so distraught.

"Later," Kaldur told me firmly. "We must finish this."

"Ches!" Chesnaught agreed, a little too quickly. He grabbed a boulder left from all the chaos and charged at Circe. As he slammed it into her, I stared at Kaldur.

The apprentice to the King of Atlantis didn't look at me.

" **Enough!"** Circe exploded again. I was sent flying back, my spine groaning when I slammed into a metal pole. Everyone, even Zapdos high in the sky and Chesnaught with his massive bulk, went tumbling like leaves in the wind.

" **I am a goddess!"**

God, she really liked mentioning that.

" **And I will not be treated like a punching bag by arrogant children!"**

"How about a princess!?" I called out. Well, sorta. My face was in the dirt.

"…What?" Circe sounded confused.

I chuckled, spitting out earth. I struggled to my feet. My Pokemon, and my friends, were all looking between Circe and me, as though we were the stars of the show.

When all along, I was just a supporting protagonist. "How long have we been here, sending out blasts of lightlng, lava, and all that?" I looked up, feeling hope once more. "You think someone might have seen that?"

Everyone else looked up as well.

Wonder Woman, the Princess of Truth, stared down at Circe with a small smile. Latias floated behind her, like the honor guard to royalty.

"Hello Circe," Wonder Woman said with gentle smile of hers. "I believe it is my turn."

Wonder Woman disappeared. There was a loud sound. A sonic boom, I realized dazedly. And the next think I knew, Wonder Woman and Circe were fighting.

Magic bounced off those amazing bracers. The Lasso wrapped around slim hips before slinging Circe into a wall. Fists with more strength than I could conceive of without using words like 'millions of tons' slammed into diamond hard skin, both parties blocking and striking with abandon.

Circe had been holding back. She'd always been holding back. Maybe she just didn't want to truly expend herself against me and my Pokemon. I'd even made her bleed. And yet, now? Against her greatest enemy?

She just couldn't compete.

We, all of us, watched in awe as the two legends tore the landscape apart. Until, finally, a mistake was made.

Circe overextended. She could have recovered. But she didn't account for one thing.

Zapdos. Earlier, the Pokemon had used it's lightning on her. In the storm of power that ensued, Circe hadn't noticed the small, brief blast of electricity that had traced around her.

Thunder Wave, the electric move that paralyzes opponents. A powerful enough being can ignore the effects. But in a brief instant, that paralysis can pop up, freezing them in that small moment.

She been leaping back, lashing out with claws filled that poisonous green energy from earlier. Then she froze in shock, a brief electric shock flooding her veins. She only froze for a brief instant, where even enhanced individuals like Kaldur, Superboy, or Chesnaught would freeze for a full minute.

But that brief instant was more than enough time.

Wonder Woman wrapped the Lasso around Circe's wrist, pulling her in. A fist slammed into Circe's fist. More blood flew. The Lasso, tight in Wonder Woman's grip, wrapped around Circe. Once, twice. A foot slammed into the back of Circe's knee.

She fell. Screaming in rage, in defiance, she screamed.

And then I felt the presence of everyone else in my mind.

Everyone okay? I said hurriedly.

I am well, Kaldur replied.

All good, said Superboy.

A cacophony of noise filled my mind, a joyous one.

Master! Jirachi cried out. The mental equivalent of a hug wrapped around my thoughts (Which is weird, but nice to feel).

It's good to be back. Latias said softly, her own mental hug following Jirachi's.

In the back of my mind, I hunted for the presence of Chesnaught's thoughts. His mind, usually so boisterous, mischevious, filled with life, was an empty husk of itself. I reached out to him mentally.

I'm here bro… We'll talk about this? Whatever happened, we'll talk, I said within his mind.

Regret and remorse were his only answer.

Circe was still screaming in anger.

"Diana? Can you please?" I asked.

A punch shut Circe up. Bleeding from her nose and the cut on her shoulder, her right arm hanging and broken, and bruises all over her, she looked pathetic. Not like the woman who had held off an entire team of Pokemon on her own.

God. Even Amazo hadn't been that tough. She'd nearly killed me. Only her own arrogance kept me alive. If she'd kept her cool, she could have snapped my neck.

The appearance of someone new in the clearing reminded me of the other reason I was alive. The rules of the game.

"Ahhhh," Ares, dressed in ridiculously spiky armor, took a whiff of the air, his booming voice filled with satisfaction. "It is rare that a conflict with such a small number of participants brings me so much power," he looked over at Slowbro, who was still balancing on his tail in Mega-form. "You were right. You have my approval. You, the Kryptonian, and the Grass Knight," He laughed. "And your master, I suppose, though he is more the general than the soldier."

Slowbro gave him a dopey grin. His thoughts, on the other hand, were filled with a bloodthirsty satisfaction.

"And what of him?" Athena stepped from nowhere, still wearing the military uniform from earlier. She strode towards Chesnaught. She was frowning. "He killed someone."

My jaw dropped. I looked over at Chesnaught, my mind reeling. He looked away, pain on his face. I looked over at Kaldur, who met my gaze evenly. Then he nodded.

Chesnaught… Jirachi floated over to him, her thought filled with sympathy. Her own pain was strong. Latias floated over as well, the two legends hugging him. The massive bear didn't respond, only closing his eyes.

"Hmm," Ares stroked his chin. "Yes, that was against the rules."

"A case," Kaldur said. "Could be made that it was an accident."

"Could it?" Ares smiled. "He used lethal force, and someone died. That was against the rules."

Oh fudgenipples.

"Ah," Everyone turned towards me. "Maybe we should have him judged for that? Someone who will be fair, in both sentence and punishment," I looked over at Chesnaught. "But for now, the contest? What are the results?"

Athena looked over at Wonder Woman, who held the unconscious Circe in her Lasso. "Self-evident. Circe showed power, and her planning was excellent. But she did not follow through. More than that, her disrespect towards the gods was… surprising," Athena frowned. "She has always been arrogant. But claiming to want the gods serving her."

Wonder Woman frowned, looking down at Circe.

"Regardless," Ares chuckled. "Trainer Red has won."

"…doesn't feel like it," Jirachi, Latias, and Chesnaught were all reeling. Whatever else, the effects of this night would change us, I could feel it.

"Ah, but the best wars always feel that way!" Ares laughed again. "Now, let us return. The rules of this little partnership must be decided on!"


	28. Sweet, Sweet Death

_**August 6th, 1:00 am, Gotham City**_

He was already in the booth when I walked into the diner. I almost missed him. He just looked so... normal somehow. Even dressed to the nine in a suit more expensive than most people's cars, he seemed to blend in somehow. Something about his stance maybe?

It was late at night when I walked into the nearly empty diner, hearing a distant 'woosh' as Latias flew off. I wasn't dressed as nicely as he was, but my red hoodie, blue jeans, and red hat were all clean at the very least. Still, I felt like a slob as I sat across from him.

Ice-blue eyes looked up at me from under professionally cut hair. "Mahmoud. How are you?"

"Tired. How about you, Mr. Wayne?"

His smile widened. "Please, call me Bruce."

Yeah right. Like he ever thought of himself as Bruce. Even with all the changes in my life, I still thought of myself as Mahmoud. But then, no one dedicated themselves to the second identity like him.

"Bruce," I said softly. "How are you?"

"Same as always," he said as he waved the waitress over. "Been dealing with the new hires you sent over."

I winced, resting my hands on the table between us. "I didn't send them. They... you want the whole story, right?" The waitress came over. "Can I get coffee please? Lots of cream and sugar."

"And I'll have my usual, as well as the pie for later." Bruce watched the waitress walked off. I heard the door open behind me. Bruce looked over my shoulder.

As the waitress walked into the back, he transformed. His ice-blue eyes became sharp crystals. His relaxed stance moved into something far more ready for battle. And the shadows of the bright diner seemed to lean towards him. He was no longer Bruce Wayne, the rich playboy. He'd become one of the deadliest men on the planet in a single second.

I blinked. Even though, intellectually, I knew he was the same man, it was still crazy how different he was. Then another person came up to the booth.

"Am I interrupting anything?" I looked up at the speaker. Like Bruce, he had black hair, blue eyes, and a massive build. Unlike Bruce, his suit was very simple, and he wore glasses. An oddly normal looking man, considering the truth.

"Clark," Like his demeanor, Bruce's voice was far darker now. "You've heard of Mahmoud here?"

"Oh, yes," Clark Kent's eyes flickered around before he relaxed. He held out a hand. "Trainer Red, right? I'm-"

I grinned at him. "Trust me, on my world, the number of people who _don't_ know who you are is limited to guys living in jungles."

Clark blinked. Then he smiled. Like Bruce, he seemed to change. But unlike Bruce, who seemed to 'sharpen', Clark seemed to 'grow'. Everything about him became so much more. He lifted a hand and removed his glasses. His eyes were inhumanely blue. Just like Superboy's.

"It's nice to meet you," Clark looked at Bruce... No. That's not true. Even without the costumes, I knew the truth. Superman looked at Batman. "She's about to come in."

The door opened again. The three of us looked.

The woman who entered was wearing a simple dress. But nothing could make her look simple. She could have been wearing the hoodie and jeans I was, and still stood out as a princess. None of the secret identities of Clark, Bruce, and myself. Diana of Themyscira walked forward with a smile, and took a seat at the booth next to me, Clark sitting by Bruce.

I took a moment to geek out at the fact I was current sitting with _the_ DC Trinity. Then I got serious.

"You told them the first part?"

"Yes," Wonder Woman answered. "Up to the moment when Ares and Athena summoned us back."

"Hn," I grunted. "Yeah. I couldn't remember the minute after that."

Bruce frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that, for me, it was like getting super-senses with none of the training or discipline to control them." Superman winced, clearly understanding. "Nothing but light and sound as my mind was bombarded with images."

"The arguments of Gods are far beyond a mortal human," Wonder Woman explained. "Superboy and Aqualad had less trouble."

"Same with my Pokemon. Zapdos, Jirachi, Latias, and Heatran apparently understood every moment of it," I added. "But after that?"

 **PYJ**

 _ **Unknown Timezone**_

I blinked the last bit of insane color from my vision, hearing a final eagle screech as I did so. When the room appeared at last, my Pokemon were back in their balls, with Latias floating between me and Wonder Woman. Superboy and Aqualad were blinking rapidly, but seemed better than I was in terms of disorientation. I looked at the throne.

Most of the gods had apparently left during that light show they'd created. Zeus, Hades, Apollo, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Athena, Pele, and Swamp Thing were the only ones there. Zeus had a small smirk on his face as he looked at us. He met eyes with Zapdos, and the smirk became a small frown. Zapdos looked back cooly, not giving an inch.

"Bah," Zeus grunted, looking at me. "Well, it seems you've won. You are the beastmaster. Now, what does that mean to you?"

I really hated being put on the spot. I hated it even more when all I wanted was to help my poor Pokemon, take a nap, and eat a big dinner. I pushed my weariness away. As Ted would say, 'sleep after you leave the ring.'

"I'd like to think I'm a guide, more than anything. So I'd like to make some suggestions. Take them or leave them, but I'm not a commander." Athena and Ares seemed to quirk eyebrows at that. "So... how about instead, I just give you guys two suggestions. First, ask to join the Justice League, or make a superhero group of your own."

Zeus quirked an eyebrow, and everyone else in the room acted with the same sort of surprise. Wonder Woman in particular gave me a shocked look. "Why?"

"Because you guys need to power up. You need belief to do that, and you need to step onto the world stage," I waved my hand out dramatically. "Becoming a superhero is a good way to do that. I don't suggest all of you do it. The enemies predicted in the prophecy can't be allowed to know the full capabilities of your group. But even one of you stepping onto the world stage as a hero, making waves? Well..." I waved at a surprised Wonder Woman. "Diana is a legend. And Superman is just as much of a legend, worshipped in some parts of the world. You'll need that sort of belief to boost your-"

"Wait."

 **PYJ**

I stopped, looking at Superman, who looked supremely uncomfortable. "I'm not worshiped at all. I mean, some people are big fans, but it's not to that extent."

I winced. Considering the presence of Superman, it was hard to believe he was so young compared to his multiversal counterparts. He was obviously slightly naive, even compared to me, and tended to shy away from things he was uncomfortable with.

Proof was in his non-existent relationship with Superboy. After all, the original Superman had gone on hundreds of adventures before he met the future Connor Kent, and met several different Supergirl's to boot. Whereas this one hadn't been through even a little of the comparatively weird things he would eventually encounter. It didn't forgive him, but it explained a few things.

"Clark, people are just as likely to call your name when they want help as they are for their deities," I said uncomfortably. "I'm not saying you revel or encourage it. But people have a faith in you and the rest of the league that is comparable to how the Ancient Greeks saw the Olympians. The fact is, if the Olympians want to be strong enough to face what's coming, they need that sort of faith. More than that really."

"Are you sure you thought things out quite so clearly?" Batman asked in that growly voice of his.

"...No. I was tired, I was worried about my Pokemon, and I just wanted to go home," I rubbed my eyes. "That idea... it was from when I was on my world. Just an idle thought. If the dark forces of the universe converge on Earth, why not call in everyone? And I mean e _veryone_. So when the prophecy was said, I began to think. And that's one of the things I thought of."

I leaned forward. "Anyways..."

 **PYJ**

"-powers," I said wearily. "Beyond that... I need to start preparing. Because I know what's coming, and I know who we need to inform and fight back with."

Zeus frowned, leaning back in his chair. "Heroes... I suppose Hercules might like the chance."

Wonder Woman shifted slightl as I winced.

"Maybe try to have more level-headed types fit into the roles. Athena would be great for example," I nodded towards her. "You don't need to have many people. Just enough to really represent. Along with Wonder Woman, you'll have credibility."

Hopefully. Damnit, should I even have been mentioning this half-brained idea of mine?

"Very well," Zeus declared as everyone in the room looked up at him. "I suppose we'll have to choose."

"And what of the other deities?" Pele asked me, crossing her arms. "Are we to simply follow this decree?"

"I'm not trying to force anyone into this," I said, now way too tired to actually be scared of the badass goddess eyeing me. "I'm just trying to save the damn world with nothing but a good plan and superpowered monsters at my hips." Story of a Pokemon trainer's life come to think of it. "I'll throw advice at anyone who'll accept it. I'll have to see how the League will handle new applicant's, but at the very least, I suggest asking. Maybe stop bank robbers and terrorist in the meantime."

"While following the laws of whatever city you choose to aid," Wonder Woman added calmly. "As a gesture of respect."

"Yes, yes," Zeus waved a hand dismissively. "Hades, can you-"

"Already on it," Hades took out a cell phone and started tapping. "I'll send a report to the other deities. Odin and Ra will be especially curious. Pele, I assume you'll tell your father?"

"Indeed," she nodded firmly. "In the meantime, I will go with the young heroes, to join them."

"What?" Superboy, Kaldur, and I said in unison.

"Why!?" I followed, now more worried than ever.

She frowned. "I was lead to believe that the younger or more inexperienced of the superheroes were meant to join your team. So if my father were to join the Justice League, I would join you. Was I mistaken?"

"Well, no, not specifically, but..." I stared at her for a second.

 **PYJ**

"Pele," I looked over at Batman and Clark. "is one of the most powerful goddesses in existence. She isn't just a volcano goddess. She is the goddess of fire, lightning, wind, volcanoes, violence, and a few other things. She created Hawaii, and was worshiped for years after other goddesses faded from history. She can fight toe-to-toe with any being on the planet, and most among the stars. It is no exaggeration to say that she has as much power as nuclear bombs, considering that she is directly related to volcanoes. Consider Krakatoa."

Clark winced, while Batman simply eyed me.

"And she wants to join the Titans."

"The Titans?" Batman asked.

"We named ourselves," I sighed. "At least, Miss Martian and I did. Well, Kaldur said..."

 **PYJ**

"My lady," Kaldur bowed slightly. "I'd like to ask that you allow us to speak with our superiors."

She frowned. "You think they will refuse me? That I am somehow unsuited for your team?"

Was the air getting hotter?

"No, my lady," Kaldur said. "But our team is young. It is, in many ways, still forming. We do not wish to simply add members without those who made our team possible knowing. That is all."

"...Hmm." Pele looked between us, stopping on Superboy. He shrugged, looking supremely bored, and very badass. "Very well."

"So what is left?" Apollo asked, grinning brilliantly. "I feel like this conversation was month's in the making!" He winked at me, confusing me thoroughly.

"I... I need to talk to Hades. Alone."

Hades looked up from his cell phone. He looked curious, but only a bit. "..."

"What can you say in front of him, that you cannot say in front of me?" Zeus asked. His eyes were hard, and the air around me pressed against my skin.

"I'd like to ask him to send a message. And possibly, to ask this person to come here," I kept my eyes on the ground, avoiding Zeus' gaze. "I need to speak with her."

I didn't put any emphasis on the word 'her'. But when I said it, while thinking of the person in question, I could feel the entire room freeze. Swamp Thing sucked in a shocked breath. The oppressive feeling of Zeus' power faded. Apollo gaped at me.

"...very well." Zeus' voice was weak. Understandably so. "Leave."

Instantly, the room was empty. Only Hades, Superboy, Kaldur, Wonder Woman, Latias, and me. The dragon Pokemon rubbed her head against my head, worry and compassion rubbing my thoughts at the same time.

"Red?" Superboy asked me, shocked.

"Who is she?" Kaldur asked me.

"...the nicest person in the universe... no, in existence. And the most feared."

Superboy blinked in confusion. "How can someone be both?"

"You do the right thing, and get hated for it," I sighed.

"Mahmoud?" I looked at Wonder Woman. She eyed me with concern. "What... what have you done?"

I looked between them. Kaldur and Diana were especially shaken. With a few sentences, I'd scared off the most powerful of the gods.

"Leave," I said softly. "Like I said. Nice. But feared. Both happened for good reasons."

"...Come," Wonder Woman said. She took Superboy and Kaldur by the shoulders.

Master? Latias asked.

Go. I need to face this alone.

...Yes, master.

They walked/floated out of the room, giving worried looks until the door closed behind them. Hades and I met eyes. He rose up, walking down towards me. His well-pressed suit shifted as he came towards me, coal black eyes focused on me. He came to a stop a few feet from me, staring.

"What is the message?" Hades asked.

"I know where Dream is. I know where Morpheus is."

"...You have her attention."

 **PYJ**

"All right, nobody move!"

We all blinked at the interruption, turning to look at the loud voice that had interrupted me. The four of us turned to look at the commotion.

Two men, both armed with hunting rifles and wearing ski masks, had entered the diner. One was pointing the gun at us. The other was aiming at the waitress, who looked petrified.

"...Really?" I said softly to the others, honestly surprised. "Do superheroes just summon bad guys?"

"I've wondered myself at times," Clark said, reaching for his glasses. Batman stopped him.

"Red?"

I blinked, then shrugged, rising to my feet. I moved around Diana, who shifted to let me out, and eyed the two robbers. Both were looking at the waitress, though one still had his gun pointed at Clark. Which was hilarious. I grabbed a glass bottle of hot sauce from the table and leaped forward.

My quick motion caught the eye of the guy aiming at Clark. He turned. Way too slowly. Compared to the dozens of superpowered beings I'd fought, he was a snail. I threw the hot sauce as I slapped the gun upwards, breaking his trigger finger. He screamed.

His friend spun around. I punched him in the face, kicked his feet from under him, and hit the first guy in the sternum. As he passed out, I finished the guy on the ground with a punch.

Then I walked back to my stall. Diana let me sit again, and I sighed. "Okay. So. I was speaking to Hades."

 **PYJ**

"I'd like to help her find him," I said softly. "And afterwards, I'd like to send Chesnaught to aid Dream in his recovery quest."

"Your request is to help?" Hades asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"No. My request is to see Chesnaught get the best defense when it comes to his accidental murder. And you are known as a fair and righteous judge."

Hades frowned. "That..." He winced suddenly, then nodded. "Yes. That is more than fair."

"...Can I speak to her?"

He stared at me like I was stupid. Then he disappeared. I looked around, surprised at the suddenness of it.

Then she appeared. She was short. She had black hair, and pale white skin. She wore a black tank top, a necklace with a silver ankh symbol hanging on it, and a pair of leather pants. And she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen in my life. Weird, that Death would be more beautiful than Aphrodite.

I stared at her. She smiled, and my heart skipped a beat. I blushed. "Uh... hey."

"Hey," her eyes sparkled with amusement. "You've had a long day, haven't you?"

I shrugged. "Yeah. There were a few times I thought I might meet you earlier than I would have expected."

She chuckled. Then her smile became a bit sad. "You know where my brother is?"

I became serious in an instant. "Yeah. Not the exact address. But I know who took him, and how to get him."

"Hm," She leaned forward. "Tell me more."

 **PYJ**

"I told her everything. And now we're going to find out who has him and how to rescue him. With him back, the huge amount of people who've gone crazy over the last few years should drop massively. She'll be making moves in the magical community to find him, and Chesnaught will be part of the search."

I looked between the two heroes. Batman and Superman eyed me. "So... what happens now?"

 **Author's Note:**

Trying to write while sick is the worst combination of things in the world. But I finally got this eight page thing done. Not the most I've written, but a lot.

I'm worried about how well this will be received though. There are a lot of things happening in this chapter. Some of which will end badly. Escalation is a serious issue here, and I'm sure you guys know it.

That said, writing the diner stuff was fun. I always like the idea that multi-millionaire Bruce Wayne hangs out at diners, and yet no paparazzi show up. What sort of deal does he have with the owner?

One last thing. I have a . It's young, and I'd like some help with the set-up of it, but it's there. The dream is to one day be able to write full time, with no need to worry about anything but writing Feral and finishing my fanfics. Keep in mind, I'm not making people pay to read my fanfics. That's a bit much. I'd just like to be able to do this all the time.

Okay, self-advertising over. Now, time to work on the next chapter.


	29. Opinions

**Interlude:**

Red waited outside while they deliberated. Batman was first to speak.

"This may be the most dangerously complicated situation we've ever faced."

Clark frowned. "You know, I never thought those words would ever be an understatement, but..."

Batman frowned, his eyes hard in the flourescent lights of the diner. "I'm being serious."

"So am I." Clark said softly. "Some of the things in that prophecy... they sound way too familiar. And now we might have mythological beings asking to join the Justice League." Clark looked at Diana. "Who do you think will ask?"

"Athena," she said without hesitation. "Ares as well. Hercules might. And Pele mentioned her father might be interested."

"And if we refuse?" Batman's voice was soft. Focused.

"...I don't know." Diana sighed. "What Red has done is so dangerous I can barely comprehend it. Bringing the gods into the modern world, and expecting them to act as modern civilization needs them too."

"And the one he called Death?" Superman asked. "Who is she?"

"I don't know," Diana said. "I don't... he worries me. Red sees so much sometimes. His Pokemon allow him to fight alongside us, to survive. His family of seven. But the secrets he holds are just as dangerous. I'm worried that he's revealing too much, too fast. Revealing a connection with a being so powerful even Lord Zeus was scared of her? That may only be the surface of this."

Batman frowned. Superman and Wonder Woman looked over at him. After a moment, the black suited man leaned forward. "Red has begun compiling a series of files of threats we may face. As he has no idea how we might end up encountering them, he focuses on basic shared attributes of each."

"How many are in the prophecy?" Wonder Woman asked.

"The blackest night is the Black Lantern Corp. And the war of light references a battle between the Green Lantern Corps and other versions of them." Batman frowned. "But I imagine Red and I will have some trouble with the more abstract parts of the prophecy. Red skies could reference Trigon, the Infinity Monitor, and a dozen others. The fact is, Red has been writing these files for weeks. And I imagine only more prominent or easy to remember threats are coming to mind for him."

Superman seemed saddened by that. "So many..."

"Only possible ones," Batman reminded him. "Keep in mind, these are the villains of universes different from our own. Some of them may not exist, and ones Red has no knowledge of could exist. Kaldur is one example of that. His history is entirely different from how Red learned it."

"But the possibility is there," Wonder Woman said. "So we have to acknowledge that. Do you think having more team members could help?"

Batman's eyes narrowed. "Yes. But we need to avoid disrupting the unity of the team. Wonder Woman, can you contact the gods as a whole and let them know we'll be needing to make some drastic changes?"

"What do you have in mind?" Wonder Woman asked.

"We need to speak to the current members. Call a meeting and discuss restructuring the Justice League," Batman said. "It's possible we may need to rethink how we recruit new members. And I don't think only adding gods to the Justice League is a good idea. We may want to expand who we add."

"I can think of a few people who might like joining," Superman said.

"As do I." Wonder Woman said.

"I'm sure all of us have people in mind," Batman said evenly. "Which is why the League as a whole must discuss this. What happens with the League now needs to account for these future threats. Prophecy or no, we can at least confirm Hal Jordan is lost out in space with another Lantern, which may kick off this 'war of light'. That at least is an issue that may come to threaten the Earth. We'll need numbers to defend it."

"As long as we don't build an army," Superman said.

Batman eyes seemed to darken. "As I said. I've read the files. And to face these threats, an army may be the only option."

 **PYJ**

 _Outside the Diner_

What are they talking about? Latias asked Red as the pair stared into the diner. Red was sitting on Latias' back, the pair relaxing as they watched Wonder Woman, Superman, and Batman. Red's leg lazily swung. With one hand, he rubbed Latias' head, petting her as he wrote in a notebook in his lap.

"Probably something about how I pretty much ruined whatever timeline this world ran on by suggesting ancient mythological deities join modern day superheroes."

Really? Latias asked.

Red's amusement was easy to feel in the link between them. "No. I imagine it's something along those lines though." He looked down at his notebook. "I have too many plans, Latias. That's the problem. The DC Universe, any universe, is one made of dozens of heroes, and twice as many villains. Three times as many civilians too. That means that, as of now, there could be dozens of plots going on. I won't know for sure what they are of course. But I need to plan for anything," Red sighed in annoyance. "Except that I'll end up destroying myself that way. The simplest plan is best. I already have a Batman to make overcomplicated gambits that will destroy the bad guys. I need to..."

Red frowned, tapping his pen on his lips. Latias waited. "I need to think like a trainer. Work with my limitations and turn them to strengths. For example, the new members. If I'm restricted to four moves and six Pokemon, I simply need to pick the right moves and the right Pokemon. So I need to do the same here. Dozens of mythological beings might want to join the League. I need to break down who will be an aid to the team, and who will be a distraction. Having a shit ton of power isn't the same as being useful. So we need to optimize."

He sighed. "But Batman can handle that I think," Latias felt a bit of amusement from him. "Although I kinda like the idea of the DC Trinity doing an 'American Idol' style tryout for the whole thing." He shook his head. "But I think if I apply myself that way, think of things the way a trainer does... damn it!"

Latias was surprised when Red tossed his notebook aside, hopping off her back with a frustrated huff. Master?

"What the hell am I doing!?" Red snarled. He reached up and put his head in his hands. "Allah help me I... I'm making deals with ancient deities, fighting monsters, and preparing to match wits with guys who've been doing this for centuries? How the hell am I supposed to do this?"

Latias stared at him, shocked. His mind was a whirl of fear, stress, and exhaustion. Even while fighting Champion Steven, Latias had never felt his mind in so much turmoil. Master, we'll be okay. We can do this. Together.

"...I don't deserve you," Red looked up at Latias, tears in his eyes. "I really don't... But maybe one day I'll be worthy of your faith."

Master... Latias whispered, confused.

Red ignored her, turning to look at the diner, then did a double-take. He chuckled. "Guess I'm invited in."

Latias looked over at the diner. Eep.

All three heroes looked out at them, eyes sharp.

Sometimes, despite all the powerful Pokemon, metahumans, and androids Latias had encountered, only Arceus, Mewtwo, and Rayquaza seemed like they could ever match up to the DC Trinity. And that glare was one of the reasons why.

"See you in a bit." Red rose up, walking across the street and towards the diner.

As he left, Latias found herself frowning. Her master was stressed. He needed help. He needed to be able to stand against all the things he'd be fighting soon.

A small smartphone floated out of Latias' fur, carried by her telekinetic power. A light application of the same power allowed her to press at the keys of the phone. She quickly activated the text function and typed out a reply to one of her contacts.

 _Latias:_ How close are we?

 _Adamant:_ CLose

 _Adamant:_ *Close. I've input the equations. If you're right, this should be possible. But your talking about is still theoretical. Hell, half of it involves string theory. Just a theory.

Latias stared at the screen. After a moment, she shook her head.

 _Latias:_ No. This will happen. I can't accept anything else.

She closed the text screen, then went over to her notes. With a look of focus, she began to look over her equations. The answer was out there. She just had to find it.

Master would be safe. No matter what.  
 **PYJ**

A city away, a man looked at his phone. He smiled as he read the last reply.

 _Latias:_ No. This will happen. I can't accept anything else.

"...intriguing." The man put his phone away. " All the best then, Latias."

He reached over his desk, pressing a single button on his desk. "Mercy? I'd like to speak to you please."


	30. Transition

_August 7_ _th_ _, 8:00 am, Mount Justice, Happy Harbor_

The next day, I stumbled into the kitchen, simply walking in barefoot and shirtless, only wearing my pajama bottoms. Feeling better after a good rest, but still out of it, I walked over to the drawers to grab a bowl. As I did, I barely noticed Wally speedily chomping into a bowl of cereal. As I got the biggest bowl I could, the sound of Wally devouring his food suddenly stopped.

I looked over at him, curious.

Pele stood in the kitchen, arms crossed as she eyed me.

"...Lahillahi." I mumbled, using the arabic word my dad went for when something annoyed/surprised him. "Okay, I'm just tired enough to not freak out. What is it Pele?"

She quirked an eyebrow. "I came to ask if your superiors have agreed to having me on your team."

I leaned against the counter behind me, running a hand through my hair. "I have. They'll be doing some restructuring first. I can call you if you want to find out without, you know, teleporting into my home at random."

Pele nodded. "Very well Beastmaster. My number is on your phone."

I didn't even question how she'd apparently done that. "Great. You want a bite before you leave? Maybe hang out for a bit?"

She blinked, apparently startled by my request. Then she gave me a nice smile. "No. But thank you. Call me soon, please."

She disappeared. I sighed, turning back to the cupboard and trying to find some cereal that wasn't ninety percent sugar.

"Dude!" Wally yelped.

I turned to look at him. His spoon was in front of his face, dripping milk as he stared at me. "Who was that babe!?"

"Pele. Hawaiian deity of a lot of things, but mostly volcanoes and sheer power." I blinked. "Huh. I think I'm starting to see why you'd be surprised."

"She was-...So-...I just-..." Wally seemed stuck between sheer delight and confusion.

I finally understood why. A tall, buxom, powerful amazonian woman, dressed in nothing but a lioncloth and chest bindings? In front of Wally?

"You know she can snap you in half, right?" I said as I grabbed my cereal and poured a bowl.

"Oh man, but what a way to go!" Wally mumbled.

I sighed, trying not to feed the part of me that felt the same. "Wally, do you know where everyone is?"

He shook his head of whatever fantasy was filling him. "Yeah, why?"

I sighed. "Kaldur, Superboy, and I went on a improptu mission recently. We need to tell you guys about it."

"You guys went on a mission?" I jumped, spinning to see Robin grinning up at me. As I frowned at the sneaky midget, he only smirked. "What happened?"

I thought of Chesnaught.

"We'll tell you later," I said softly.

Wally and Robin shared a confused glance as I finished pouring my cereal and began to eat.

 **PYJ**

 _August 7_ _th_ _, 10:03 am Mount Justice, Happy Harbor_

A couple of hours later, we all gathered on the training floor. None of us was in costume except for Red Tornado. Aqualad and I stood in the center, with my Pokemon standing with the others. Latias hovered near Chesnaught, a single hand on his back. Superboy stood next to Chesnaught as well. While Superboy wasn't being as comforting as Chesnaught, he still took an almost protective stance next to his friend. Miss Martian had Jirachi in her arms, hugging my tiny Pokemon to her as the story was told. Heatran was closest to me, with Chansey and Robin on either side of her. Red Tornado, as the oldest among us, stood in the center, with Zapdos hovering above on a wave of electromagnetic power. Slowbro was asleep. Or pretending at least, because I could feel his mental strength brush against my mind.

It took us a while to get the story across. Miss Martian seemed simultaneously amazed by the tale (Especially when Superboy told the tale) and horrified (When I had to admit how much damage I took). Chesnaught looked down when I got to his part of the story, a look of shame on his face. I rushed through it, but Latias still leaned her head to rub it against Chesnaught's. We ended with the final meeting with the Olympians and me calling Death. When we finished the story, Wally and Robin shared a look. The others seemed shaken. Except Zapdos and Red Tornado of course.

"So, we now have to deal with the fallout of that night." I said softly. "Batman and the rest of the League are dealing with most of that. But I think we, as a team, need to decide some things."

"What things?" Wally asked, his eyebrows scrunching together.

"For one," Kaldur said. "Chesnaught will be under review by the League. As it is, there is more than enough evidence to prove a case of self-defense. But they will need to speak with Chinese officials, and Wonder Woman will have the Olympians give a statement. We must also discuss how our team will deal with things like adding members. Pele has said she'd like to join. And according to Trainer Red, Batman and Green Arrow have scouted out another member."

The others turned to look at me. I nodded. "A female archer. She's been working in Gotham independently for awhile, and I think she could do some real good with us. Green Arrow has agreed to teach her a bit, make sure she knows what she's doing. She's a skilled fighter, and the stuff we're facing means we could use some more numbers."

"What about Roy?" Wally asked worriedly. "He's an archer."

"Indeed," Kaldur said. "But Roy has chosen not to join us, and I feel we should respect that."

"And in the end, we're about teaching others, and ourselves, how to do this job right," I added. "I feel that part of that is taking people in. I remember how scared I was when I was first joining the team. But you guys, and the League, gave me the resources and the training I needed. I wouldn't have survived against the Beastmen if it wasn't for that. If someone else wants to join, to be a hero, and we have something to teach them, I think it's our job to do that."

Robin rubbed his chin. "Well, sure. But does that mean we start taking in anyone who asks?"

I thought about the DC Universe Online video game. In the game, the premise was that millions of people suddenly gained superpowers, forcing a change in how metahumans were treated. Good idea for a game. But having millions of new superhumans suddenly flying around and fighting just screamed property damage and death.

"Maybe... okay, let me break this down guys." I stepped forward. "Lets look around the room. First, normal humans who can fight on par with powered individuals," I pointed at Robin. "Metahumans, aka people who gain powers," Kid Flash. "Atlanteans, Amazons, and other Earthlings with natural superhuman abilities." Aqualad. "Aliens," Miss Martian. "Synthetic lifeforms," Red Tornado, who cocked his head in what I guessed was surprise. "Genetically created or enhanced individuals," Superboy. "And Pokemon." No need to state who I pointed at.

"The world is becoming full of people with abilities and skills that can let them equal entire units of soldiers. Not just bad guys, but people with good intentions. And don't think that people haven't noticed. From the moment the Justice League formed, following in the footsteps of the Justice Society..." I trailed off, and Kid Flash picked it up.

"He's right," Wally said with a frown. "A lot more people have been getting powers lately. I mean hell, I'm the what, fourth person to have super-speed as a main power?"

"And the League of Assassins have been around for centuries." Robin added.

"Not to mention the Genomorphs," Superboy said.

"The what?" I blinked in surprise.

"We'll explain in a moment." Kaldur said. "But you are right. M'gann, what are the chances other Martians may wish to come to Earth?"

Miss Martian looked, blinking. I guessed she'd been having a mental conversation for a half a second. "Well, I don't think they'll want to? I mean, most Martians can't really stand the journey. We tend to depend on being in psychic contact with others, so suddenly finding ourselves in space is," M'gann shuddered. "Well, I couldn't really stand it. Even my uncle ended up on Earth on accident. But it's still possible. And we know there are other aliens out there."

"And I know that King Orin wishes to better relations between Atlantis and the surface," Kaldur said thoughtfully. "I cannot discount that others of my people might end up joining us."

Whenever I'm on Themyscira, We looked at Latias. The Amazons ask me about 'Man's World'. And some of them sound like they would really like to come here. They really like the hamburgers Diana brings.

" _ **Do you believe that others like me might join?"**_ Red Tornado asked.

I nodded. "I hope so. Everything about the world says that AI will be part of the next stage of humanity. Whether through partnership or through transhumanism, I don't think Tomorrow and Ivo's creations will be outliers. I believe that Artificial Intelligence will become a species unto itself."

Robin nodded. "I can see what you're saying. Even with Pele, or gods like her."

Wally scoffed. "Oh please. She's probably just a Metahuman like me. Gods aren't real. Same with magic."

I frowned. "Wally, I... I mean, does it matter?" When he looked at me, I shook my head. "Whatever they call themselves, whatever we call the source of their power, we can't deny that it exists. Zeus, Pele, Odin, they all have insane amounts of power. I _fought_ Circe, and she would have killed me, not matter if she called herself a witch, a goddess, a metahuman, or a pretty pony. The fact is, there is a source of power in the world that people like Pele, or Mister Zatara, have access too. And that power is becoming more common in the world."

Wally frowned. "Oh come on! If we just humor them, we're ignoring science!"

"Science is the study of natural phenomenon!" I crossed my arms. "Wally, magic exists, and it has rules! If we ignore that-"

"Oh sure, lets all wave a magic wand and hope really hard!"

" _ **Children, I believe we are getting distracted."**_ Red interrupted. **_"What is the issue that you believe we must focus on?"_**

"...I think we should wait to see what the League wishes to do on the matter of Pele," Kaldur said as I looked at Wally in confusion and a bit of annoyance. "As for this archer, I'd like to speak to her, and see how it goes. After that, we revisit how we treat the joining of others to our team... By the way. Miss Martian, Trainer Red?"

My annoyance fled, returned by a bit of happiness and M'gann and I traded grins. She let go of Jirachi, and the two of them came alongside me as Kaldur stepped aside.

We came up with a name for the team!" Jirachi said happily, eyes closed as she danced in the air, smiling widely.

Robin blinked. "What, we don't have a na- oh hey, we don't have a name!"

"We do now," I wrapped an arm around M'gann holding a thumb up as she did the same. "We are the Titans! Earth's present and future defenders!"

"What do you think!?" M'gann said with a grin that was mirrored my Jirachi and I.

Heatran growled happily. The others didn't react at all.

"...what?"

"It's... okay?" Wally said. "I mean, does it matter what we call ourselves? The bad guys won't care, why should we?"

I didn't like Wally too much right then.

 **PYJ**

Later, Miss Martian and I were sitting in my room on the floor, Jirachi and Latias floating over us. Our eyes were closed, and M'gann and I were sitting.

Within our minds however, we were speaking. I was walking back and forth in the space I'd created. It was in the shape of a large Pokemon Center, with a small section upstairs dedicated to other aspects of my personality. A sort of literal 'mind palace' to retreat into. M'gann sat at a table in a chair made for her, while Latias and Jirachi floated above us.

"We need to figure this out," I said softly as I paced. "Circe was able to shatter our link. The fact is, if magic can break the link like that, we need to start looking into either making the link unbreakable, or into other avenues of communication. M'gann?" I looked at her.

The young Martian girl was in her White Martian form. She was nervous to be in it, but I'd like to think I'd long since shown I didn't really take much stock in appearance. Whether it was a consequence of being a minority or a Pokemon trainer, I didn't know. But when she shook her head, it was the exact way she would in her green form.

Of course, in this form she used mental communication, much like Jirachi and Latias. I had Uncle J'onn look into it. He is still doing research, but I think the magic users on my planet know ways to enhance connections, or even destabilize them.

Something came from Jirachi. In the link, emotions had the same sort of effect that sound and movement did when it came to language. I looked over at her. She shook her head, signaling for M'gann to continue.

Um... With a hesitant look at Jirachi, M'gann continued. While my planet hasn't had a lot of contact with others before, I think certain planets the Green Lantern Corps works on might have something similar?

"Chances are high on that." I sighed, rubbing my eyes. While I was wearing a t-shirt and jeans outside, in my mind I was wearing my costume, the comforting feel of armor pressed against my arms and abdomen. "This is annoying."

Was it really so bad? M'gann asked Latias.

Yes, Latias answered sadly. I've become used to the presences of the Titans and Master in my mind. Losing that was... like becoming blind.

It was so scary... Jirachi said softly. A wave of sadness filled the Pokemon Center. Outside, I could see bright skies go overcast. Heavy-handed, but I'd been long conditioned to connect sadness with rain. I moved over to Jirachi and wrapped my arms around her. The feel of my physical and mental presence was something I tried my best to convey. I was surprised to feel that I was crying, and couldn't help a chuckle. Apparently it's harder to hide your emotions when you're in your own mind.

"Hey... we're going to work on stopping this shit from now on. Okay?"

Jirachi nodded against my chest.

"...From a more practical standpoint, we can't let anyone interfere or shut down our comms. Nothing is more important to a tactical team like ours than working together, and communication is key to that."

Maybe we can learn magic? Jirachi said, surprising me. She looked up at me hopefully as her ribbons waved in the air. Then maybe we can stop it next time!

I blinked. "W-Well, yeah, I guess we can. Huh. Or at least, maybe some of us. Damn, that's a really good idea sweetie." I rubbed her head, getting a cheery giggle in response. "What do you think Latias? You up to learning magic?"

To my surprise, she shook her head. I'm sorry, Master. I have something else I want to focus on.

"Oh. Well, let me know what you need either way. In the meantime, I guess we'll ask Zatara." I sighed. "And if he doesn't want to teach us for some reason, I can think of a few," Probably bad. "options." I waved away the trenchcoat wearing apparition that appeared for a moment. "I guess we have one plan. I think I'll also send a message to the techs at StarLabs, see if they can come up with a much less vulnerable link."

M'gann blinked, her wide mouth opening slightly. You don't want to ask Batman?

I hesitated. The three of them stared at me. I knew that they were reading a hell of a lot more than the normal senses could. I sighed. "I kind of want to see how far I can go right now. I feel like I've been asking Batman for a lot of help. I want to see if I can start work on creating my own equipment for example. I'm not refusing to ask him for help, but I'd like it to no longer be my first option."

M'gann gave me a toothy smile. Oh, I think I get it. Still, if he can help...

"He probably can," I said with a chuckle. "He's got a rep for a reason." Behind me, a wall of Batmen from across a thousand continuities appeared. I dismissed it before M'gann could get a good look.

You really look up to him. Behind M'gann, an image of J'onn appeared, smiling proudly.

"I look up to you too," I smiled at her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "M'gann, you're probably the person I'm closest to on the team. Like the little sister I never had. But you're so much stronger than me."

M'gann blinked. Red, I-

Suddenly a door appeared. It opened, and Robin poked his head in. "Hey guys?"

The Pokemon Center faded into Miss Martian's room. We all looked over at Robin.

Wha- M'gann blinked. "I mean, what is it?"

"We were thinking of doing a whole beach thing tomorrow. Slowbro is down." Robin smirked. "At least, he's smiling."

"Slowbro is always smiling." M'gann said.

"That's his secret." I ignored the confused look I got to smile at the four. "Well guys? Beach episode?"

Like in anime! Jirachi cheered, spinning happily.

That would be fun. Latias added more serenely than her friend, gently floating to a spot next to me as I rose to my feet.

"I did buy a new swimsuit." M'gann smiled, probably imagining the peacefulness of the beach. I was personally imagining the look on Wally's face when M'gann appeared in a swimsuit. Come to think of it...

"Doesn't Wally have school tomorrow?" I asked.

Robin's smirk became a full-blown grin. "Yep."

Sometimes, the world just works out in your favor. Or in this case, against the favor of someone who recently annoyed you.

 **PYJ**

When I went to look for him, Chesnaught was sitting in the center of the small oasis we'd built into the center of the massive cave Heatran had created so long ago. The oasis was made up of palm trees with tropic bushes and a lawn surrounding a pretty pond. Towards the right as I walked up was a hot spring Heatran and Slowbro had formed together. Chesnaught was sitting next to the pond, staring at the crystal clear water. The bear knight had his arms wrapped around his knees, his gaze unfocused.

I moved over to sit next to him. He didn't respond to my presence. He just watched the water.

On his other side, Superboy came out of the trees. Like me, he didn't speak. He just walked over to sit next to Chesnaught.

None of us said anything. We simply sat together.

Sometimes, that's really all you can do.

 **PYJ**

Later that night, I called Artemis.

"So we figure we'll get everyone together to hit the beach and have some fun." I said as I moved around my room, pacing.

" _And you want me to come?"_ She asked.

"Yeah. And your mom as well. I figure it's a good way for the team to get to know you guys."

" _...My mom?"_ She said incredulously.

"Hey, she just got her legs back," I said flippantly. "I figure she might like a small party on the beach to have some fun."

" _Are you sure it's a good idea?"_ Artemis asked. _"Don't we have the whole secret identity thing to take care of?"_

I winced. "Oh yeah. Forgot about that."

She laughed. _"Yeah, you seem like an impulsive kind of guy."_

I blinked. "Not sure how I feel about that."

Artemis chuckled again. _"Well I think I'll- Oh my god!"_

I stopped, my eyes narrowing. "What is it!?"

" _Some chick with a loincloth just popped up!"_

"...Pele, please come here."

She popped into existence next to me. I didn't give her a chance to talk. "Pele, why were you at Artemis' home?"

The tall bronzed woman had released her ponytail now, letting her long dark locks fall over her shoulders. She frowned, crossing her arms. "I simply wished to meet my fellow newcomer. And I don't appreciate your tone."

"..." I crossed my arms. "Okay. Fine. Come to the beach with us tomorrow. Get to know the team. And we'll see how it goes."

Pele stared at me, eyes wide. Her arms dropped. "The beach?"

I frowned, crossing my own arms. "Yes, the beach. Why?"

"I uh... I don't really like the beach." For the first time since I'd met her, she sounded one hundred percent embarrassed. "It does things to me."

What? "Well, as long as you come by to meet the team, it doesn't really matter where you do it." I said with a tilt of my head.

She seemed relieved. "Very well. I will visit tomorrow." Then she disappeared.

" _So she just pops in and out!?"_ Artemis yelled from the phone. I raised it to my ear.

"Now and again. She needs to learn a bit about how to work with mortals."

" _Mortals?"_

"Yeah. She's Pele. The Hawaiian Goddess of Fire." I winced. "Though, I personally think of it as a title more than anything."

" _What the heck am I getting into?"_ She asked softly.

"Something that has more in common with ancient myth than it does the normal world. And in many ways, even greater." I rubbed my forehead. "Trust me. Come over tomorrow. You'll have fun, and maybe see what's up with the team. Jirachi would love to see you."

" _Huh,"_ She said thoughtfully. _"Yeah, I guess I'm okay with it. Sure. I'll come."_

 **PYJ**

When I hung up after a few minutes of talking to Artemis about how she'd get to the cave, I was left with one more call.

The phone rang for a few minutes. When it answered, a female voice spoke. _"Hello, this is-"_

"I'm checking to confirm my appointment with you... Miss Quinzel."


	31. Initiation

_August 8_ _th_ _, 8;32am_

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Robin pressed a hand to his face dramatically. "A moment of silence for our... absent comrade."

Jirachi obediently covered her mouth as she floated nearby, giggling slightly.

"Poor Wally," M'gann sighed.

"Why are you smiling?" Superboy asked me.

"Huh?" I turned to look at him, still grinning. "Oh... Uh, no reason."

I looked down at my shirtless self and grinned again. Abs. Real, one-hundred percent abs. Six of them, with obliques. Thank you, Ted Grant and bullshit Pokemon training equipment.

The twelve of us stood or hovered on the beautiful beach connected to the cave, staring out into the ocean. All us non-Pokemon had swimsuits of varying types, while the Pokemon went without. I gave myself one more tap on the stomach, delighting in the results of my training, then stretched my arms out.

"Okay, silence over! Let's party!"

"Woot!" Robin sped for the sea, yelling as loudly as he could.

Wait for me! Jirachi called out happily, flying after him. Come on, Slowbro!

The pink cat growled happily.

Be careful! Latias called worriedly, following along with a laughing M'gann.

"Not going to rush out there?" I asked Aqualad as we both followed more sedately.

"I've lived in the ocean my entire life," Aqualad grinned. "I can wait a few minutes to enjoy the view."

Heatran, rather than rushing into water, began turning some of the rocky land nearby into magma, burbling happily. I sent a wave of affection towards her in out link, and she preened with joy.

Chansey, Chesnaught and Superboy followed behind us, though more slowly. No need to explain why. My pink nurse and the Kryptonian didn't exactly hold hands with Chesnaught, but the feeling of support was there. I kept my pace slow, to let him know I was with him as well.

As for Zapdos, well, he simply flew up above us all and began building a storm. Not for any reason but to prove he could.

All in all, the start to a good beach day.

 **PYJ**

You haven't lived until you've been at a beach with a bunch of awesome superpowers to truly make things interesting. Slowbro brought up enormous waves, letting Robin show off his surfing moves. I tried myself on one of the three we'd brought out, and ended up under the water more often than not, but it was still a blast. Latias, Jirachi, and M'gann started spraying us with enormous blasts water using their psychic powers, forcing the rest of us to retaliate. Aqualad organized a counter-offensive, using himself and Slowbro as the main attack force, while Superboy and Chesnaught used their enormous strenght to aid them. Me, Robin, and Chansey were left to act as support.

Soon, Water Gun's, psychic blasts, and enourmous waves flew fast and angry.

That was when I made my move. Chansey and I circled around Aqualad. Robin, who was in on it, went over to Slowbro's side. When Aqualad was chuckling lightly, I betrayed him, having Chansey use Water Pulse to send him flying. M'gann, giggling like a madwoman, took advantage to send him twirling in the air. Superboy and Chesnaught tried to save him, only for Slowbro to send the pair spinning in the water on a Surf, and leaving me the champion.

At least until everyone piled up on me with waves of water, leaving me coughing water out of my nose even as I grinned. Robin, my fellow traitor, was left untouched.

During our impromto war, three others walked out onto the beach. I waved at Aqualad, and he nodded. The both of use walked away from the giggling teenagers and Pokemon, and stepped towards the three. _**"Aqualad,"**_ Red Tornado said. _**"These are the new members of the team. I understand that Red invited them for your festivities today?"**_

"Yes, he did." Aqualad nodded at the two woman standing before us. "It is good to see you again, Pele."

"You as well, Kaldur." The tall woman was wearing a red bikini, her long black hair loose around her shoulders. I took a moment to thank god that the legend of Pele turning into an elderly woman when she was on a beach wasn't true. Otherwise the very flattering bikini she was wearing would have been horrific.

"And this is Artemis," I smiled at her, getting a hesitant one in return. "How was your first Zeta ride?"

"Weird," she said. "But everything is still in the right place I guess." She was clearly a little uncomfortable in her green swimsuit, but trying her best to seem confident. Ah, the problems of being a teenager.

"Come on," I waved for them to follow. "We're all going to cook up some food pretty soon. Heatran, sweetie!" My lava monster-girl popped her head out of the magma she'd created, her metal head now red with heat. "We're going to eat soon! I got you some obsidian!"

She barked happily, popping out and shaking herself like a dog. Pele watched with bright eyes as Heatran came over. Heatran, on seeing Pele, barked again, coming over to Pele. The superhuman woman bent to pet her, uncaring of the immense heat surrounding Heatran as she cooed at the Pokemon.

Aqualad turned towards Red Tornado. "Would you like to join us? I understand you do not need food, but it must be lonely in the cave."

" _ **Thank you,"**_ Red Tornade said. **_"But I must finish some work. Batman heard of my wishes to look into artificial intelligence, and has given me a few leads. Excuse me."_**

I turned to Artemis. "So, onto some fun and games. Shall we?"

When Jirachi noticed Artemis, the cheer of joy the small Pokemon gave brought a smile to Artemis' face.

When we gathered on the beach later, Artemis and Pele introduced themselves. "Well, like Mahmoud said, I'm Artemis." The blonde sat next to M'gann and Jirachi, who were both enjoying a hot dog. "I've been operating in Gotham for a few nights with my bow, and Green Arrow offered to train me. He said joining you guys was a good idea, so, here I am."

"So what can you do?" Robin asked.

"I'm an archer," she said simply. "I'm also a pretty good fighter. My uh... my dad taught me."

I scowled at the thought of Sportsmaster. The next we met, I was determined to make a better showing of myself.

Sensing she didn't want to say more, we turned towards Pele. I'd made sure to buy a lot of food, since a majority of us were athletic, superhuman, or Robin. And yet, Pele had almost cleaned us out. She swallowed what had to be her thirtieth burger, and nodded severely. "I am Pele, the Goddess of fire, lightning, dance, wind, volcanoes, and violence. I am also know a Ka wahine 'ai honoa. The woman who devours the land. I am strong enough to lift mountains, and all things I rule are under my sway. I am Pele."

As she'd spoken, her voice became slowly more dramatic. A wind picked up, sending her hair afloat, and lighting cracked in the distance as Zapdos' eyes narrowed. When she finished, we all stared at her.

"I'm really glad I went first," Artemis whispered.

"Okay then," I said with a grin. "No, let's play volleyball! The game ends when one of us pops it."

Because in a battle like that, no mortal ball can survive.

 **PYJ**

Hours later, long after we'd made sand castles, surfed, built ice sculptures with Slowbro and Latias' help, and made a general fool of ourselves, Batman and Red Tornado had called in to let us know a mission had come up. We all got into our various costumes, and my Pokemon entered their Pokeballs to wait. Latias floated next to me as we all gathered. Artemis was wearing a green mask that left her hair loose, her midriff left open. Green Arrow showed up as well, apparently to meet his student before her first mission. I was surprised to see Wonder Woman as well. She and Pele left the room for a bit. When they came back, Pele was wearing a red chestplate of armor, with symbol in the shape of fire on it. It looked good, and Pele seemed to like it. As she stepped towards us, the Zeta Tube activated.

"The Wallman is here!" Wally called as he stepped forward. The redhead almost immediately tripped, leaving us to watch with as a beach ball bounced forward, a beach umbrella opened, and a bagged sandwich slid towards Robin. Robin bent over and picked up the sandwich, that familiar smirk on his face.

"Not the best first impression, 'Wallman'." Robin opened up the bag and took a bit as Wally rose to his feet.

"Not a great name either," Artemis said with a smirk of her own. "What exactly are _your_ powers?"

"Uh, whose this?" Wally asked, stepping forward.

"Artemis," I answered. "One of our new teammates. You remember Pele?"

Wally didn't miss a step. He sped to Pele's side, a smarmy grin on his face. "Hello beautiful. Remember me?"

"...No." Pele gave Wonder Woman a confused look. Diana only shook her head and sighed in annoyance.

Wally didn't seem the least bit fazed at that, only smiling a bit wider. The Zeta-Tube lit up again before he could lay any more lines on her.

" _Recognized, Speedy, B-06."_

I blinked. Speedy? Cool. Roy Harper was someone I was actually excited to meet. By all accounts, he was a fun guy in the old school universe. Not to mention Liam Harper, which... I took a glance at Artemis. Yeah, whole new weirdness there. But hey, at least he'd be a nice-

"First off," A guy wearing a black and red vest and a tiny face mask stepped forward, a look on his face like he'd smelled something horrific. "I don't go by Speedy anymore. It's Red Arrow."

...Dangit. What's the point of meta knowledge if it gets shut down every five seconds?

"Roy?" Green Arrow said, sounding like some combination of confused, elated, and hopeful. "You look-"

"Replaceable." The teen stepped forward, his stride confident, and just a bit pissed.

Green Arrow blinked, hurt. Then his eyes narrowed. "She isn't some replacement. She's a good kid with skills and willingness to do some good. You went solo. Batman, Trainer Red, and I found her, and we thought she'd be a great hero. You aren't being replaced. You just weren't here."

If Red Arrow was hurt, he didn't show it. "Can she even _use_ that bow?"

"Yes," Artemis stepped forward, plainly pissed off. "She can."

"Who are you?" Wally said, annoyed.

"I told you already." I stepped forward, crossing my arms. "Artemis is our new teammate. She's the reason Pele is even on the team."

"Truly?" Pele asked, raising an eyebrow. Wonder Woman, standing with the other senior members of the league, smiled at that.

"Her recruitment is what opened up the topic of adding new members." I answered.

"Which could include you, Roy. If you wished?" Aqualad said, his baritone voice filled with compassion. "There is no quota on archers for the team after all."

"And you _know_ who we would pick." Wally said.

My eyes narrowed. "You, maybe. Aqualad, Robin, and you go way back with this guy. All I know is that this guy walked into the room and started acting like douche to _my_ friend." I stepped alongside Artemis, glaring at Red Arrow. Pele came up alongside me.

Wally and Red Arrow stood together, glaring right back as Aqualad and Robin shared an awkward glance.

"Enough." The voice of the Bat cut into the tension. He didn't step forward dramatically, didn't raise his voice, didn't even move. Just spoke. "Red Arrow. You had something to tell us."

"...I came here because of Dr. Sterling Roquette." He said simply.

Robin poked his head up at that. He reached for his arm computer, bringing up a screen. As he did, I activated my own to look at what he was bringing up. "Nanorobotics genius and claytronics expert at Royal University in Star City! Vanished 2 weeks ago!"

"What is... claytronics?" Pele asked me quietly.

"It's a study based around using robotics to create tiny objects that can turn into larger ones," I explained quietly as I read up on Dr. Roquette. "Basically sand that can turn into swords, chairs, toys, anything that can be programmed into them."

As Pele let out a little sound at that, apparently fascinated. When I turned to look, her face was next to mine. Her brown eyes read the screen hanging above my arm. Her eyes were really dark. But there was a hint of red in them. Her lips were pursing slightly as she read. Her arm bumped mine.

I turned to look at Red Arrow again as he mentioned the League of Shadows. Rather than Assassins. Guess Batman Begins shared something with this universe.

"Huh," Artemis said softly.

"This going to be an issue?" I asked her softly.

"More like incentive," she narrowed her eyes.

"-one problem." Red Arrow continued. "The Shadows had already coerced her into creating a weapon." The screens around switched over to show us a new image. A large insect like robot. Well, large on the screen. According to the measurements, the thing would barely visible as more than a dot in the distance, if that. "Doc calls it the Fog, comprised of millions of microscopic robots. Nanotech infiltrators capable of disintegrating anything in their path. Concrete, steel, flesh, bone."

"The sort of stuff you see in horror stories," I said as I read the file. Red Arrow gave me a glance, but nothing more.

"But it's true purpose isn't mere destruction. It's theft. The infiltrators eat and store raw data from any computer system, and deliver the stolen intel to the shadows. Providing them access to weapons, strategic defense, cutting-edge science and tech.

Artemis sighed. "Perfect for extortion, manipulation, power broking. Yeah. Sounds like the shadows."

I stared at the Fog, confused. Pele noticed, and Wonder Woman came up to join us. The Princess of Truth placed a hand on my shoulder. "What is it?"

"Just... that's not how data works. Eating a computer doesn't absorb it's data. Something like that is light-years ahead of what we should be capable of. Sterling made a tremendous breakthrough in tech. Hell, I'd accuse her of being a metahuman-" My head suddenly flared with pain. I winced, raising a hand to my head. For a brief moment, a teal colored symbol filled my mind. Then it faded. When I looked up, Latias, Wonder Woman, and Pele were looking at me. The dragon rubbed her head against me letting out a whine of worry. I rubbed her ears, sighing. "Well. Doesn't matter."

"Dr. Roqutte's working on a virus to render the Fog inert," Red Arrow continued, drawing our attention.

"But if the Shadows know she can do that-" Robin trailed off.

"They'll target her," Red Arrow and I said together. We shared another glance. I kept my mouth closed, indicating for him to continue. While I didn't like him so far, this was business. He turned back to the screen, which was showing a school. "Right now, she's off the grid. I stashed her at the local high schools computer lab."

"You left her alone?" Wonder Woman and Green Arrow said together, in an odd mirror of Red Arrow and I.

"She's safe enough for now."

"Then how about the three of us keep it that way?" Green Arrow asked.

"You mean you and your new protege?"

Green Arrow stared at him. When he spoke again, it was calm, but firm. "You brought this to the team. It's _their_ mission. Which means it's hers now too."

Red Arrow scoffed. "Then my job is done." He turned and walked towards the Zeta Beam.

I turned to look at the Fog again, frowning.

Master? Latias asked.

Something is bothering me. I thought to Latias. And it's not the Fog. I though of the teal symbol again. Then of the orange lantern one. And one more. A blade... no. An edge. Later. We've got the mission.

"We'll need to speak with Dr. Roquette." Aqualad said calmly.

"I do not understand," Pele replied. "Why do we not simply find these Shadows and crush them where they lay?"

"Because we can't find them." Batman told her. "For now, we're on the defensive."

"No," I said softly. "We aren't. We have something they need. They have to come to us." I looked back at the others. Aqualad nodded.

"Indeed. We are choosing the battleground. The worst possible state for an assassin to be in."

Batman smirked. "Very good. What else?"

"We've got the advantage of surprise." Robin pounded one fist into another. "They don't know about Pele and Artemis. We can hold them back, have them beat down the Shadows once they come in!"

"The hammer to our anvil," Aqualad looked at the two girls in question, who both smirked.

"We should still be careful," Miss Martian mentioned. "We don't want to be surprised either."

"Babe," Kid Flash said as flirtatiously as possible. "We're the Titans! What's the worst that can happen?"

 **PYJ**

 _August 8_ _th_ _, 21:02_

"I wish we could bring in a few more people to help you." I told Dr. Roquette. "But every scientist we know with skills in your field are too far away to get here fast enough."

She was tapping away at a computer we'd brought from the caves library. I was sitting on a chair nearby, my shock gloves on and ready. Aqualad was leaning against a wall, and the others were patrolling, except for Pele, Artemis, and Latias. My Pokemon were still in their balls, waiting.

"Hmf," she kept typing away, a dismissive look on her face. "Well, I suppose I can do it myself. I did make it by myself after all."

I smiled just a bit at that. "It really is impressive work. If the Shadows hadn't gotten it, I'd be cheering. I mean, every other bit of nanotech I've looked up doesn't come close."

"Hmph," she smirked. "If you could look it up, it probably wasn't the true research. All the good stuff is hidden away from competitors and thieves, sometimes for the exact reason we are here today... Though I appreciate the compliment, as uninformed as it is."

I was an odd combination of offended and amused.

"Though I was wondering about those animals of yours." She looked up at me, curious.

"Pokemon." I answered. "They're sapient though. Not animals, but intelligent beings like you or I."

"Hmm?" She typed as quickly as ever. "Alien?"

"Alternate dimension." I answered. "But from Earth.

Miss Martian, link us up. Aqualad thought. I was already linked to Latias and her, but I could feel the others joining in.

Huh. Feels different from Jirachi and Latias. Artemis noted.

Do I really need to be hearing this? Dr. Roquette thought, her mental voice filled with annoyance.

Aqualad managed a smile. I suppose not.

Ohhhh, Latias voiced. I've studied claytronics, but this is... how are going to deal with sending the virus across the whole of the swarm? You must have some way to use the swarms own coordination software to send the signal. Try this!

I think everyone in the room suddenly froze at the sheer amount of numbers flooding our heads. Mathematical equations, methods of coding I could barely comprehend.

I... what? Dr. Roquette stared at me, shock on her face.

See? I said as though I wasn't surprised at all. Intelligent. Did she manage to help?

Y-Yes. Dr. Roquette shook her head, a faint amount of surprise on her face. It might be... helpful, to have um-

Latias! The dragon said happily.

Latias, aid me. The scientist shook her head. When did my life become so odd?

Enjoy the good parts of it. I adviced.

Latias, open a private link with the doctor. Aqualad said. The rest of you, continue patrolling.

As the link closed, Kid Flash chimed in. Well, at least we don't have to hear her complaining. Seriously, who complains about someone helping them?

Pot, Kettle. Have you met? Artemis said.

Hey, hey, I do not need attitude from the newbie who drove Red Arrow off the team!

Aqualad and I, the oldest and somehow most mature of the team, sighed in unison.

Enough. I said, trying to send as much of myself into the word as possible. Artemis, we are on a mission. I need you focused on the job. Not sniping at Wally. Before Wally could start acting snide, Aqualad took over.

Wally. Red Arrow refused to join long before Artemis. It is his decision. I would like him with us as well. But he is choosing to work on his own. Until he decides otherwise, we must respect that it is _his_ decision. Artemis is here to help. If you have a complaint about her addition, leave it until later. For now, as Trainer Red said. Focus on the mission.

Fine. Artemis pouted.

Whatever. Wally grumbled.

I am having a marvelous time. Pele said out of nowhere. I have never flown before. I've grown to the size of mountains, but this is a very novel experience nonetheless.

I cracked a grin at that.

Red? Superboy asked me. Why haven't you released your Pokemon?

...Because I want to save them for the right moment. I answered. I've been using my Pokemon as my own personal army sometimes. But for this, I need to think surgically. We're in tight quarters. Zapdos, for example, would turn the school to ash. It's not a pride thing. It's just not the time for a small army.

Oh, Superboy thought. I thought maybe, because Chesnaught-

Never. I said. I leaned back in my chair. Others might accuse Chesnaught of being a killer. I know him. He is leader of my team for a reason. I'd never punish him for something he wasn't responsible for. Teach him to do better, sure. But never punish. I realized then that Miss Martian had apparently spilt the conversation off from the others. I felt thankful for that.

How long will we have to wait here? Kid Flash asked.

I don't know. Aqualad said honestly.

Man, I could feel his impatience. Seriously, this is boring.

Welcome to stakeouts. I thought.

I just thought, you know, bunch of assassins, maybe we'd fight ninjas?

Robin somehow snorted in thought-speak. Nah. Ninjas never attack in big groups. They don't wear black clothing, or carry big swords. They dress like normal people to sneak up on ya, and use subterfuge. Poison, or knives. The only reason the Shadows would attack us openly is if they had no choice. Sneak attack first,then full assault if they knew they were running out of time.

That jived with my impression of history.

We waited. And waited. As we did, I slowly started to get into a conversation with Wally. While we were still a bit annoyed with each other, we were also bored, and seemed to jive on at least one thing. Mindless games to pass the time.

I spy something... red. Wally said.

Uh... M'gann's hair.

Nope.

I struggled to think of something else as Artemis said something about a boy. Pele's armor?

Dangit. Yeah.

How can you even see her?

Dude, it takes skill to be this good.

I rolled my eyes.

Okay. I spy something-

We were cut off when Dr. Roquette spoke up. "Okay, I'm done with the calculations. The virus is ready."

Aqualad stepped forward. "But the virus won't be much use if we cannot find the weapon. Can you track it?"

The doctor huffed. "My utility fog is not a weapon. It's science, brilliant science."

So was the H-Bomb. Incredible science and weaponry sometimes went hand in hand. I kept that thought to myself.

"And of course I can track it, but I'd have to go online. Might as well rent a billboard with this address and "assassinate me" written in neon."

Aqualad and I shared a look. She sounded scared. Not much. She was keeping together well. Hard not to admire her, despite her rough exterior.

I could see why he found her attractive.

As I tried to figure out who the hell I was thinking of, Aqualad put a hand on her shoulder. "We will protect you."

That was Aqualad. The man could take words as cheesy as that, and make them sound like the promise that would shatter the world.

Roquette eyed him. After a moment, she nodded. "Tracking the Fog now."

As she worked, I sighed. "Too bad we can't turn the Fog against the League. Finding them through this stuff would be awesome."

Roquette smirked. "Well... I did make it once."

 **PYJ**

Around thirty minutes later, Robin and Superboy were being sent to the Fog. Robin as technician, and Superboy as the muscle. The rest of us were left to wait in silence. None of us spoke. We simply waited.

As I watched the room, the door slowly opened.

"Down!" I leaped forward, my shock gloves up. Shuriken flew towards Roquette, only to bounce off my metal gloves. Several more flew, forcing me to push Roquette behind me as Aqualad acted like a shield. The shuriken sunk into his skin a bit, but he was fine otherwise.

"Mmm, that had to hurt." The assassin ran in. She wore a white mask like a grinning cat, a green kimono, and carried sais.

My eyes narrowed. "Kaldur, take the doctor."

When Aqualad grabbed her and leaped back, I felt a rush of warmth for my team leader. No questions. Just faith.

"Oh, want me all to yourself, do you?" The woman's voice was smooth. Seductive. And her movements were graceful.

I could see why so many guys as badass as Red Arrow and Catman ended up falling for her.

She lashed out with her right sai. I got into my loose stance, blocking her. She pulled back the sai the instant it bounced off titanium, and suddenly I was in the fight of my life as Aqualad called for help.

Boxing is, in my opinion, one of the most basic and best of all martial arts. It's a great fighting style, and can easily transition to work with every other one in the world.

Of course, that meant she knew it too. I was on the defensive, only blocking and dodging, left to use tiny jabs rather than devastating blows. Her sais stabbed forward with eerie grace, and she chuckled just a bit.

"Oh sweetie, not ready for the big leagues yet?"

She twirled away from my right fist, aiming to stab my heart.

I'd like to imagine she was shocked when my left fist slammed into her left eye.

To her credit, she didn't get knocked out or anything. She rolled with the blow, only stepping back with a grunt of pain.

The look she gave me afterwards was all kinds of dangerous. "Oh? Not afraid to hit a girl?"

I didn't roll my eyes, but I really wanted to.

We met in the center again. I stepped away from a kick, only to have her duck a risky haymaker. A pointed knife nearly took out my eye, but her knee managed to push me back a step before I could hit her.

"Not the talkative type?" She said flirtatiously.

Couldn't help it. "I never know how to talk to beautiful woman."

"Oh, the shy and sensitive type?" She chuckled.

Then an arrow slammed into one of her sais, sending it flying. Artemis had an arrow notched in microseconds, and she aimed at her counterpart. "Jade."

The ninja girl blinked. "Oh. Well this is interesting." She took out a hilt, which suddenly folded out into a short sword. A kodachi maybe?

I took out my baton, but stayed back.

Artemis began to shoot, and I was massively impressed. I've shot a bow before, and the timing to reload those is murder. Artemis fired about six in the span of time it would have taken me to notch one, let alone fire it. Of course, Cheshire began to slice them out of the air, sending splinters flying as Aqualad and I defended Dr. Roquette.

Then Kid Flash and Miss Martian entered the room through the door closest to us, Pele and Latias entering through the one behind Artemis. "Hmm," Cheshire mumbled. "Way too interesting."

She took out some smoke bombs, clearly ready to disappear.

Psychic!

Latias eyes glowed, and Cheshire froze in a burst of telekinetic power.

I punched her in the back, my shock gloves activating. She screamed as electricity flooded her body. Not for long. But enough for me to step back and let Aqualad put her in a sleeper hold.

That was all she wrote.

"Huh," Kid Flash mumbled. "That was... quick."

"Don't be fooled." Aqualad said softly as he lowered Cheshire to the floor. "She was skilled. We won through numbers, nothing less."

"More are going to come." Artemis said softly, lowering to look at Cheshire.

"I certainly hope so." Pele crossed her arms, looking most angry with the situation. "One assassin, and that was all? I expected to be challenged."

"How'd she get in here?" Kid Flash narrowed his eyes at Artemis. "Weren't you on the perimeter?"

"Assassin dude," I lowered to tie Cheshire up, mentally signaling Latias to hit her if she moved. "She can probably sneak into Fort Knox. Hell, might have been her initiation for all we know."

"Well," Wally sputtered. "It's still her fault!"

"Wally, I was there too." M'gann said gently.

"Yeah! Being distracted by her. Besides, I can't be mad at you." He smirked. You gave me mouth-to-mouth.

"We heard that." The room said in unison.

"Dang it!"

M'gann, the ever awesome, simply stepped forward to put a hand on Artemis' shoulder. "You did great. Thank you." She smiled at Artemis, and the archer seemed touched by the gesture.

"Focus," Aqualad rose, his gameface on. "They may know she is captured if enough time passes. We must prepare."

"Should we move?" Roquette asked.

Before we could answer, the com link activated.

"Robin to Aqualad. We're over Philadelphia." He sounded shaken. "We've located the shadows' next target."

As he shared the news, Artemis and I looked down at Cheshire. Her sister, the assassin. What a world.

 **PYJ**

We needed to keep working. If Cheshire had found us however, we didn't have any guarantees the next bunch of douchebags wouldn't find us as well. We had to move. And then there was the cat-masked assassin in the room. We had to hold her.

And that's how Pele and I ended up in a room with Cheshire. A half-naked Cheshire. When we'd asked Artemis to remove her weapons, the girls had entered another room with the unconcious Cheshire. When they came back, it was with dozens of small weapons, bombs, and poisons, Cheshire's clothes, and a smirking Cheshire wearing nothing but a bra and panties.

Wally's drool had been impressive.

So Pele and I were on guard duty. Me, because I could fill the small room we'd requisitioned with an army, and Pele because Cheshire had little to no chance of knocking out the goddess. I sat in a chair, while the extremely bored Pele leaned against a wall.

This did not prevent Cheshire from speaking though.

"I have to say, you certainly move fast kid." She said to me. "It's been what, five minutes since we met? And you already have me stripped and tied up." She shifted slightly against her handcuffs. "Now, what do you plan to do with me?"

I didn't say a word, focusing on listening to the updates the Team were giving each other as I kept my eyes moving around the room.

"Ah, Trainer Red. Not even going to talk to the girl you've managed to get into your clutches," she smirked when my eyes met hers for a brief moment. "Oh? That's a dangerous look in your eyes. Should I be watching out for that bear of yours to knock me out?"

I leaned forward, now listening. "How do you know about me?"

She chuckled. "Oh come on? A guy in a hood running around New York, setting a bunch of wild animals with powers on mobsters? How could I not know about you?"

"Fair." I leaned back again. "And I plan to hand you over to the police."

She seemed amused at the idea. "What makes you think I'll let that happen? Or that they can even hold me?"

"Don't know. I just have a promise to keep."

Pele snorted. "Why are you even speaking with this woman?"

"I'm bored."

Pele froze for a moment. Then she looked at Cheshire. "Hmm. I see."

Cheshire laughed. "Man, you have no idea what's coming, do you?"

"...Ra's."

She didn't even flinch, only smiling a bit more. "You know the name. But do you really know what the Shadows can do?"

I laughed. I couldn't help it. Cheshire and Pele stared at me, one in amusement, the other in confusion. I shook my head. "Jade. Nothing in the Shadows scares me as much as what your mom is going to do if she finds out I let you go before she could see you."

Cheshire stared at me. Then the blood seemed to leave her face.

That was the moment when the wall behind me shook.

I leaped forward on instinct, aiming to push Cheshire to the ground and out of the way. It saved my life, because the wall shattered into pieces of metal and stone as a person ran through it.

As I rolled to my feet, the three of us looked at the woman before us. She was massive, and wore a tank top. Her right arm was covered in black armor. Her hair was brown and cornrowed, shaved on the side so we could see how her thorn tattoos stretched from her arms to run along the side of her head before coming around her left eye.

"Hello little man," she said with a cocky grin. "Will you dance with me?"

I cocked an eyebrow. "Nah. I think someone else called first." Pele stepped in front of me.

"Oh?" The woman laughed just a bit. "I am Devastation." She stepped forward, showing how she towered over even Pele. "I have take on Wonder Woman herself. You think you can face me, newbie?"

I winced. Pele smiled.

Pele's fist slammed into Devastation's face. I felt the ground quake. Devastation stepped back. She blinked. And blood began to drip from her nose.

The two superhumans shared an identical grin.

"Maybe you should get out of here," Cheshire said to me in a sing song voice. "Let the big girls play."

I didn't have time to respond. As the two rushed for each other, the ground shook, and an explosion sounded out in the distance. I grabbed Cheshire, pulling her to her feet and running for it.

Team, prepare for battle!


	32. Portents of the Future

The building we'd chosen to hide in was a large one on the harbor of... well, Happy Harbor. We'd been hiding Cheshire in a stone shed type thing. I took a right the instant we got out, booking it towards the others.

"You're enjoying this," I said as Cheshire and I ran. The ground shook once more. I reached for my belt, pressing something, but kept running.

"You aren't?" Cheshire chuckled again. "Got to say, kid, you just aren't meant for this life if you can't see the _thrill_ of it."

"I tend to like living."

Her laugh was as mocking as ever. "This _is_ living! What, you'd rather be in an office shuffling papers?"

We hopped over a bench.

"Here's a question. Why aren't you escaping?"

The ninja woman gave me a smirk. Even now, while I was fully armored with a team of badass pocket monsters at my waist and she was wearing nothing but a white sports bra and panties, we both knew she might well be able to win a fight with me. She just had to knock me out before I could get my Pokemon out.

"Ah Red. You're so paranoid."

This from a girl who carried knives in her bra.

Another explosion sound filled the air.

Then Spider-Man leaped from a tree and kicked me in the chest.

As I tried to figure out how the hell I'd jumped franchises, Cheshire twisted away, leaving me to roll on the ground and face the pair. The three of us faced each other. Cheshire twitched her wrists, leaving her bonds to fall on the ground. I took a moment to look at the knock off before me.

Spider symbol on chest. Webs falling in the air. And two blank eyes.

Except the color scheme was purple, black and orange.

Cheshire chuckled for a moment. "Took your sweet time." The knock-off didn't answer. "Well Red, how about it? You want to tangle?"

The web guy raised an arm. He must have thought he was going to be surprising.

When the orange webs flew at me, they stopped in mid-air.

"Dude," I grinned. "You can't attack a Spidey fan with _webs._ "

"Jirachi!"

The steel Pokemon flew through the air like a bullet, aiming for Spidey. He twisted out of the way, barely.  
"Oh?" Cheshire chuckled. "Okay. That's cute."

"I know right?" The pair of us met in the center as Jirachi twisted in the air cheerfully.

Hi Spider-Man! Jirachi called as she tried to smash into the guy, who twisted around her Iron Tail attack.

"Not the real deal sweetie." I gritted out, most of my focus on trying not to get hurt. Cheshire laughed again.

I put my hands up, and Cheshire dived in. She was agility personified, leaping over and around me to find angles of attack I could barely understand. I couldn't compete. Ted had taught me some parkour, sure, and I'd gotten good at traversing New York, but I couldn't move anywhere near as fast.

I punched uselessly at her, and got a laugh and a fist in the shoulder in return.

"Got a lot to learn, kid."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm like, six years older than you."

"Oh, sweetie," I leaped back as her bare foot sliced across the air where my head had been. "You're a kid in this business."

"Oh my god, do you ever stop talking!?" I dashed forward. She leaped at me.

We met in the middle and exchanged blows again. I could get a hold of her to let loose with my shock gloves, but the tiny jolts were enough to push her to back off.

Her deep, throaty laugh filled the air. "Oh? Pushed a nerve?"

In the background, Jirachi threw the knock-off away from her with a burst of telekinetic power.

"So when did you let out the doll?" She kicked my chest, her dainty feet bouncing off my armor. Still hurt like crazy.

"You know when." I thought back to when I'd been reaching for my belt, releasing my Pokemon as I went.

Cheshire seemed to realize the truth immediately. "Four times." Cheshire laughed. "You reached for your belt four times."

As my mind linked with the team, I let myself smirk.

Then Cheshire punched me in the face, and I refocused as the teams went back to battle.

 **PYJ**

 _ **Pele**_

Pele flew through a wall, smashing into a van. The Hawaiian Goddess grunted in annoyance, and felt the metal slowly heat around her. She rose up again, facing the shed where Devastation stood.

"You really can take a hit," Devastation said with a dark smile.

Pele rolled her eyes. She rose up, grabbing at the former door of the van she'd impaled. "Why must you talk? Simply fight."

"Aw, you don't want to get to know me?" Devastation grinned. "I don't even know your name."

"Pele."

Devastation frowned. "Named yourself after a goddess? Weird."

The cornrowed woman leaped down. Pele's hand clenched, and the steel in her fist melted in an instant. She casually tossed it into her opponents face as she rose. Devastation had a moment to see the piece of red metal flying before it hit her.

"Agh!"

Pele rose up, and punched Devastation in the stomach, following by lifting her up by the neck and slamming her into the ground. As the asphalt began to melt underneath them, Devastation rolled out of the way of a footstomp from Pele. Pele brushed a strand of her black hair out of her eyes.

"I did not name myself. My father did, when I was born on Honua-Mea. Now. No talking. Fight."

Devastation leaped forward, punching Pele. Pele took the blow to her face, then returned it. As the asphalt turned to liquid beneath their feet, and Devastation's shirt turned to ash, the two woman began to beat on each other. Their fists slammed into skin with enough force to turn metal to dust. Pele's booted feet shifted as she ducked, her long hair dancing across grim eyes. Devastation's smile only widened with the fight, her eyes glittering with the bloodthirsty happiness of a true fighter.

The two woman leaped towards each other again. Magma began to bubble around them as they met once more in combat, and the echoing cracks of deities battling echoed in the air.

It took Pele a moment to realize some of the molten stone and metal around her wasn't created by her own power.

 **Vweeeee!**

A silver-white blast of energy split the air, slamming into Devastation. Sent flying, the superhuman woman rolled across the concrete for several meters before finally rolling to her feet with a shout. "Well... that's interesting" Devastation watched in interest as, beside Pele, a mound of the molten stone around them fell to reveal a silver head. A pair of massive and intimidating eyes peered out at Devastation.

"Hello, Heatran," Pele said.

The Magma Pokemon barked, her eyes glowing with the fierce power of her molten heart. Pele leaned into a fighting stance, and lightning snapped across a cloudless sky as the temperature around them began to melt the world.

Devastation stood in the scorching landscape, smiling happily. "Gods, do I love my job."

 **PYJ**

 _ **Aqualad**_

Kaldur stared out the window, his eyes narrowed at the sight of a portion of the pier beginning to glow bright red as lightning crossed the skies above.

"Your friend isn't very stealthy, is he?"

Kaldur looked over at Dr. Roquette. She sat at a computer, typing as Artemis paced behind her.

"He is. But his Pokemon tend to be... explosive."

"Pokemon..." She stopped typing momentarily. "Huh. So that's what those... creatures, are?"

"It is what his world calls them."

Dr. Roquette chuckled. "You are a weird bunch of kids."

"Technically, Red and myself are adults. But point taken."

Artemis stopped pacing, her eyes narrowing. Kaldur had enough time to register that before a hook on a chain flew threw the window. Moving with speed perfected beneath the ocean waves, he grabbed one of his waterbearers, formed a short sword, and swung at the hook as it passed, diverting it away from Roquette.

"Keep typing!" Kaldur said quickly, leaping out of the window the hook had flown through.

Outside, he found the man who'd broken the window. A massive Caucasian man with white, and wearing a green jacket, the chained hook clinked as it returned to him.

Kaldur didn't waste time talking. He leaped forwards, his water bearers turning into maces as he moved to beat the man into submission. The man dodged Kaldur's attack, and spun to lash out with his hook like a whip, which the Atlantian blocked with a short shield. Kaldur pushed forward, attempting to force to man to deal with him in close quarters where Kaldur would hold the strength advantage, all the while forcing his opponent away from Dr. Roquette. As he did, a mental nudge in his mind led Kaldur to smile.

"I'm afraid, despite your skill... you are outmatched."

The man's eyes narrowed in confusion. Then a beam of white light slammed into his back.

"Raaaagh!" The man screamed, stumbling forward a step. His body leaned under the enourmous weight of the ice now encompassing his back. "Ah!"

"Slowbro, Water Pulse," Kaldur said.

"Bro," Slowbro agreed, his wide smile mocking as he released the blast of aquatic fury. As it slammed into the man, Kaldur's magic took hold of the water. With a wave of his water bearers, he surrounded the furious assassin. The man raised his hook hand and fired it, only for the hook to be dragged away by the waves of water surrounding him in a five foot ball.

"Ice Beam again, please."

"Slow." In another beam of white-blue, the water around the assassin froze.

Kaldur waited a moment, Slowbro walking to join him. "Is he unconcious?"

Slowbro closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he nodded, and blasted a steaming Scald attack, the steam melting away the ice in seconds. Soon, the assassin fell to the ground, and Kaldur quickly pulled any water left in him out of his lungs.

"One down."

 **PYJ**

 _ **Artemis, Wally, M'gann**_

Artemis watched as Kaldur leaped out into the night, and quickly notched an arrow in her bow. She looked around, and mentally reached for the link Miss Martian had created. Everyone okay?

Your sister is kicking my ass, Trainer Red's voice came in on a passive line. Red's mental voice was slightly different from everyone else. It had more in common with M'ganns, coming across much more strongly than the others, and carrying emotions along with simple words. Keep an eye out. The league apparently got Devastation to come fight us, and she's a Wonder Woman villain. There might be more wild cards if they're willing to hire guys outside the League. I suggest everyone gather around Roquette."

Already here! Kid Flash sped into the room, shocking Artemis. She barely kept herself from shooting him on reflex. Can't leave it to the rookie after-

Wally! Miss Martian admonished. The alien girl floated down slowly from the ceiling. We need to focus.

Babe, I am focused as... uh. Kid Flash stopped to stare at a nearby bush. Sitting innocuously in a brown pot, it served as decoration in the room. "Did that thing just move?"

The women looked at the plant as well.

The plant responded by suddenly shooting a branch at Miss Martian.

"Eep!" Miss Martian went intangible, allowing the branch to pass harmlessly through her.

"What the-" Artemis bit off a curse, opting for shooting another wooden spear from killing her by shooting in half. She fired another one before it could aim at Dr. Roquette, who was now doing some odd combination of screaming and cursing as she frantically typed.

Wally spun out of the way of another branch. "What the heck is happening!? Is Poison Ivy attacking us!?"

"This far from Gotham?" Artemis pulled out one of the gift arrows she'd gotten from Green Arrow, one with a bulbous end made of glass. Inside, a swirl of liquids could be seen. She fired it at the bush as it began to somehow rise from it's pot, and the chemical splashed across the plants 'body'.

A squeal filled the air, and the bush shuddered back as the chemical ate away at it's body.

Kid Flash stared as the plant shivered and died. "What was that!?"

"Plant-killing arrow," Artemis said, cooly, hiding her own shock.

"You had a plant killing arrow?" Miss Martian asked.

"How'd you know you'd need it?"

"I didn't," Artemis said honestly, "But Green Arrow said to always carry it just in case."

Then, the back wall shattered. The three turned to see an army of plants in the rough shapes of humans walking towards them.

"Uh, you got anymore?" Kid Flash asked as the veritable army walked towards them.

"Why would I need more!?" Artemis yelled, firing an arrow into the crowd that exploded.

"This! This exact situation!" Kid Flash yelled as he sped forward to punch a plant in the face, kick off another, and throw a third into it's brethren.

"Focus!" Miss Martian telekinetically threw one of the monsters back, then grabbed a branch aimed at Dr. Roquette.

"I just wanted to program things!" Dr. Roquette screamed in horror, focusing as best as she could as the superheroes defended her from an environmentalists wet dream. "Why is this happening?"

Kid Flash sped through the room, smashing into plants and breaking wood with superfast blows. Artemis fired her arrows through thinner parts of the beings, using her explosive and fire based arrows sparingly to control the battlefield. Miss Martian proved more effective than both, using her telekinesis to throw the plant monsters back and block the spears they summoned from their bodies.

But there were too many. They were getting quickly overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

 _ **"▄▅▄▅▂▂▃▃▄▄▅!"**_

In a blast of noise that couldn't have come from a true animal, he appeared from the earth. Just in front of them all, the being rose, and the world shook. Artemis and Kid Flash fell to the ground. Miss Martian stopped in the midst of an attack. And the beast opened his eyes.

Chesnaught stared out at the field of plant monsters. He looked across the creatures, his sad, furious eyes, burning as hot as they ever had, his face solemn.

The plant creatures fell to the ground.

"Uh... what just happened?" Kid Flash asked in shock.

Chesnaught's eyes snapped to the forest across the street from them.

A figure stepped out of the woods. He was tall, but thin. His skin seemed to be made of brown, smooth bark. His eyes glowed red. His only clothes were a brown vest that left his chest open and a green skirt, both apparently made of plants.

For a moment, Chesnaught and the man stared at each other. As they did, Artemis whispered to Kid Flash.

"Who is that guy?"

"Based on his looks? Blackbriar Thorn," Kid Flash replied nervously. "He's bad news. A metahuman who can control plant-life."

"So," Miss Martian said quietly. "Maybe Chesnaught and him are both tied to this... Green, that Red told us about?"

Blackbriar snorted then. "If you did not wish to fight, you would simply allow me to do my business."

"Ches," the bear knight replied sadly.

"So you do not wish to kill again?" Blackbriar smiled. "An odd tactic, telling an opponent that you are afraid of hurting him. But I suppose it makes easy for me to control something like you, if your will is so weak."

He thrust a hand out at Chesnaught. Nothing happened. His confident smirk fell, and he thrust again. Chesnaught didn't move.

"Hmm. Too much flesh I suppose. No matter. I will-"

 _ **"▄▅▄▅▄▄▅▄▅▄▄▅!"**_

Chesnaught charged forward in a Tackle. Blackbriar scowled, and waves of plant-life from the forest behind him flew to surround the man in bark, branches and leaves. Soon he was a being larger than Chesnaught, and the two beings slammed into each other.

"Help him!" M'gann yelled.

"On it!" Kid Flash and Artemis cried together.

The three heroes rushed forward, Miss Martian slamming Blackbriar's new form with a telekinetic blast as Chesnaught punched the monster in the chest.

Kid Flash leaped onto Chesnaught's back as Blackbriar's enormous fists slammed into the bears chest. The speedster leaped and kicked the creature in the 'face', pushing it back.

Artemis capitalized on this by shooting the thing in the back with three arrows. With a set of beeps, they exploded, sending Blackbrair stumbling.

Chesnaught raised a fist, slamming it down in a Hammer Arm onto Blackbrair. A massive crunch filled the air as branches snapped beneath Chesnaught's immense power.

Blackbriar's form shivered, then began to grow back, 'healing it's wounds.

"Oh boy," Kid Flash gulped. "This might take a while."

" _ **Little heroes,"**_ Blackbriar hissed, a 'tongue' of leaves licking the lips of the enormous maw he'd created. **_"I will kill the doctor. Even if I must devour you first."_**

"Naught," Chesnaught said softly. "Naught."


	33. Ungraceful Win

Cheshire's kick sent me through a window. I held back a grunt as I rolled to my feet, lifting my arms to face the half-naked assassin.

"Well well, you are tenacious," Cheshire chuckled. "I'm half-tempted not to just run and kill that doctor lady."

"If you did, I'd summon a deity of thunder to turn you to ash," I replied softly.

"Oh? A diety, just for me?"

"I don't have time to waste on you," I said honestly. We began to circle each other. "As important as this is, I have bigger fish to fry."

"Oh?" She quirked her head, her bare feet sliding softly on the linoleum, her muscles twitching in readiness. "Should I be offended you have your mind on the doc instead of me?"

"...I'm planning to kill planets, destroy the devil, and bring the Endless Immortals to full power."

Cheshire blinked. "Uh."

"So if anything, the fact those are what I'm planning on doing after this is a compliment."

She gave me an odd look, then shrugged. "Whatever."

Then she leaped forward, kicking at me. I ducked, then sidestepped, letting her pass. I punched at her left ribs, but she jumped up and away, kicking at my head as she rose. I rolled my shoulders, letting them take the blow while protecting my head and spine, then stepped forward to attack once more. My metal fist bounced off her arms, and her own hands chopped against the unarmored parts of me one we began to duel again in the small room we'd found ourselves in. We spun, jabbed, punched, and grunted. Her arms, already, slightly bruised, began to visibly purple.

Then, I saw my chance. She winced a bit as she landed from another of those twirling leap kicks of hers, possibly wounded from one of my earlier blows, and my fist held contact for longer than normal. I activated my shock glove, full blast.

She screamed as electricity poured into her. She should have been turned into an absolute mess of twitching muscles and pain, but instead she twirled around and kicked me in the chest. I took the blow easily, even with all my bruises, grabbed her leg, and spun her around to slam her into a desk. I got on top of her and started punching her, screaming with every blow. She yelled back at me in between my armored fists slamming into her jaw and chest, her knees bashing into my back from her terrible position underneath me.

It didn't take much. She was half-naked, electrocuted, and being beaten by armored fists. Soon she was unconscious.

I felt a bit of shame at my victory. There was no grace to it. Just me beating down a superior fighter thanks to being better equipped and armored. She was now bruised along her arms and chest, her nose broken, face swelling up, and half-naked. Cheshire, one of the best assassins in the world.

I put aside the though. While my victory wasn't heroic or graceful, it was a victory, and I needed to move on.

I reached out into the mental link as I began to tie up the young woman I'd beaten.

Jirachi, you take out Spidey yet?

Woohoo! Jirachi spun through the air as I rode in her mind. Behind her floated the bundled up body of the Spider-Man knock-off, wrapped in his own threads and knocked out. Apparently he'd discovered what any experienced web-slinger knew. You don't use webs against a telekinetic super-being, not if you want to avoid getting wrapped up in your own webs.

Jirachi, rendezvous with Slowbro and Kaldur, I told her as 'we' flew through the sky with ease. The others are fighting right now. I want you three to join Heatran and Pele. Devastation is the biggest asset they have on the field. I'm releasing everyone now."

Yes, Master! Jirachi spun to look at her captive. What about-

Drop him. I'm releasing the other Pokemon, and we'll grab him on our way.

I switched my mental link to Latias.

Latias, I need a pick-up. I'm releasing Zapdos. I need your help with Cheshire.

On my way, Master!

My mind rode in Latias as I walked outside the building with a much more tied up Cheshire over my shoulder. As Latias dropped from the skies to come towards me, I had a moment of vertigo. That was normal. Riding in a psychic link while moving around is always a dicey move. I was more used to it now, obviously, but Latias was ridiculously fast even before she mega evolved.

I seperated from her mind in time to see her float down to join me. As she lowered, I released Zapdos.

The Bird of Instinct appeared at my side with a cry of electric anger. Its massive mind linked up with the rest of us, and more lightning joined that Pele and Heatran's battle had already created.

What did it say about me that I found all of that normal?

I barely reacted to any of that, instead walking over to a goddamn dragon, placing the deadly assassin beauty on the dragons back, then turned to get on top of a giant bird made of lightning, thunder, and the sort on unyielding rage and pride myth's were made of.

I brushed away the though of what my life had become, straddling Zapdos as we took off into the sky. We dived into the clouds, Latias alongside us. Lightning flew around us, avoiding us but still turning the clouds around me into a colorful blend of blue, yellow, and white. We zoomed through the wet droplets and buzzing electricity, eventually reaching the sight of our next battle.

"Chesnaught!" The cry filled the air like the thunder around us. Chesnaught had his arms wrapped around the massive form Blackbrair had taken on, and the two fought back and forth. Artemis leaped overhead, shooting arrows that exploded against Blackbrair's back. Wooden shrapnel flew through the air, and M'gann gracefully dodged them to lift several blocks of concrete in her telekinetic grip, throwing them at her.

I looked over at the school, and saw Wally kneeling near Dr. Roquette. Latias and Zapdos flew to join the pair, and I leaped off Zapdos to slide next to them. "KF, I'll protect the doctor. Get everyone away from Blackbrair!"

"Right!" He sped off and I focused my mind as I pulled back with Latias and pulled Cheshire onto my shoulder again. Latias focused her psychic power as I prepared.

Okay guys, I'm ending this, I growled into the minds of my friends as I crouched next to Roquette. Artemis, M'gann, clear the field around Blackbrair when I call it. KF, I need Chesnaught to get an opening to get out of the way..

On it! All three said in unison.

Zapdos, time for you to mimic your brother. Latias will help, I forced my own meager mental strength against Zapdos when it tried to complain about not needing help, and it simply flew upwards with an electric roar.

"M'gann!" Artemis called out when Blackbrair launched some spikes at the pair. M'gann let out a burst of power, sending the wooden weapons flying, and Artemis shot the giant monster wrestling Chesnaught with arrows, circling the pair as she fired.

"Latias, Dragon Pulse!"

Latias screeched, a purple beam of power slamming into Blackbrair. M'gann backed up, her face pursed in concentration as she and Artemis continued to bash the thing.

Chesnaught continued to do his work, using his own massive bulk to wrestle and smash into Blackbrair. Any person who'd watched a MMA match would have recognized the maneuvers Chesnaught was using, the different grabs, the blows in tight quarters. I wasn't the only one who'd trained with Wildcat, and Chesnaught had absorbed his lessons with ease. But that didn't mean he couldn't use some old school moves.

"Chesnaught, Hammer Arm!"

Chesnaught grinned. His arm glowed with power, and he raised it up like the hammer of Thor. When he struck, the blow sent wood shrapnel flying around. Blackbrair screamed in pain. And Wally sped forward.

Wally was able to approach the speed of sound of at his top speeds. He wasn't able to crack that last barrier. Other versions of him were able to easily shatter light-speed, and then go further to break time itself. But Wally was quite a bit slower.

That said, when he leaped up and slammed both feet into Blackbrair's chest at just under the speed of sound, it had an elemental force to it. Blackbrair was sent flying back with a sickly crack, and I realized that bone must have joined wood in snapping. Wally spun around and he and Chesnaught pulled back.

" **Y-You think that is enough!"** Blackbrair's voice echoed. **"I am-!"**

"A two-bit wizard hack," I stepped forward, Dr. Roquette, Latias, and a now released Chansey at my side and Cheshire in my arms, her body healed by Chansey, but still unconscious. "You lost Blackbrair. You're outnumbered by us."

" **By children?"** Blackbrair snarled.

"By a group of superhumans, martial artists, and beasts of legend," M'gann replied, landing next to me.

"Surrender," Artemis pulled her bow back, eyes hard.

"Naught," Chesnaught agreed.

Blackbrair laughed. **"I think not. I will kill you all."**

I couldn't help my smirk. "Fine. Then, in the words of dozens of heroes before me... _**Burn.**_ "

He roared, speeding towards us as we stood side by side. Chansey and Latias breathed in. And above, Zapdos struck. Not with lightning.

Instead, an enormous blast of scorching hot wind, created by Zapdos using his lightning to heat the air until it was about to ignite, hit Blackbriar, burning the grass and turning his wooden body into a torch. As Zapdos' Heat Wave hit, Chansey and Latias attacked. Chansey released a Fire Blast, her attack briefly forming into a giant Japanese Kanji made of fire before exploding, and Latias used Psychic, holding Blackbrair in place as he was literally lit on fire. M'gann watched the fire uncomfortably, but kept her focus. After a moment, she nodded at me. I nodded back, and sent my thought to Zapdos.

It didn't take long. Zapdos was, after all, not just a thunder bird. Lightning, heat waves, defogging winds, hurricanes, all of the skies power was Zapdos' to command. As well as the torrential downpour of rain that fell. It came like a waterfall, putting out the bonfire.

We all walked forward as the rain put out the flames, Latias using a telekinetic bubble to keep the rain from falling on us. The smell of smoke mingle with the rain as it sizzled against the still hot ground and sodden wood. Chansey's hands glowed green as we came closer. Zapdos dropped from the dark skies to land alongside us, folding its wings.

A large pile of charred wood rested where Blackbrair had stood. As I watched, he tumbled out of it. He was fine. M'gann had kept a mental link to him with Latias' help, though the fire had made it damn near impossible without the help.

"What was he doing at the end?" I asked as Wally sped over to grab and tie up the man.

"He was trying to grow his body," M'gann answered, wincing as she floated high above the hot ground.

But when he tried to use his ma-...Latias looked over at Kid Flash. Abilities, Zapdos and Chansey's fire just kept burning away the wood. He ended up passing out from overuse of his energy.

"That was insane." Dr. Roquette whispered. She suddenly looked over at the building. "By the way uh... I finished. The virus is uploaded."

"We won?" Kid Flash looked around. I grinned. "We won! Woot!"

"Not yet, we need to find out if Devastation was beat-"

Aqualad to team, We all blinked as Aqualad spoke into our minds. Has the objective been completed?

Yes! Miss Martian cried happily as Artemis smirked and Dr. Roquette seemed to try and get over her shock. How about you guys? Is everyone ok?

 **PYJ**

 _Minutes before_

Kaldur, Slowbro, and Jirachi ran as a group. Well, Kaldur ran, carrying Black Spider on his right shoulder. Slowbro was doing something close to a waddle that was somehow as fast as a sprint, and Jirachi was floating.

You think they're okay? Jirachi asked as they ran towards the sound of combat.

"They are still fighting," Kaldur replied simply. "Pele is a Goddess, and Heatran has similar aspects. They can survive."

Slowbro grunted slightly. "Bro."

The three came towards a red glow in the distance. When they got closer, a loud crack of sound filled the air. Moments later, a heavy object landed several feet in front of them.

Heatran! Jirachi cried out in worry.

The Lava Pokemon had landed on her back. She twisted on the ground, snarling with an anger unfamiliar to those who knew the sweet-natured Pokemon. Heatran got to her feet, roaring as her eyes glowed a solid red. She leaped up, and the concrete beneath her melted away to let her dive into the ground.

Kaldur winced at the immense heat. He was feeling a nervous at the prospect of fighting alongside two lava users now, considering how dangerous the enormous heat was to his Atlantean physiology and Jirachi's steel type weakness. But it had to be done.

The three fighters ran forward to see Heatran pop up and fire a Flash Cannon at the form of one of the two woman fighting in a pool of magma in front of them. The woman laughed.

"Jirachi," Kaldur declared firmly. "Use Shadow Ball."

Jirachi spun in the air gathering a ball of dark shadows in her hands. With triumphant shout, she launched it forward, the ball slamming into Devastation, who grunted at the impact.

"Huargh!" Pele growled, throwing her opponent back. Kaldur and Slowbro struck then. Slowbro fired a a massive blast of water from his mouth, the sheer pressure of the blow pushing back Devastation. Kaldur shoved an arm into the water, and pumped electricity into it, his runes glowing against the red light of the magma. Devastation's skin, warmed by the magma at her feet, turned much of the water to steam as it hit. Heatran struck next, releasing a blast of fire from her mouth. Jirachi followed with another Shadow Ball, and Pele waved her hands to control the magma around her and throw it at Devesation.

"Time to go," Devastation's voice declared loudly, piercing the sounds of everything slamming into her. "See you next time, sexy!"

Devastation leaped upwards in a burst of power.

"Come back here!" Pele roared, lightning landing behind her as she raged at Devastation. Even from this far away, Kaldur could have sworn he could see Devastation smirking down at them. The super-villain didn't reply. She landed a few blocks away, jumped again, and kept going.

"Pele!" Kaldur called out when it seemed like she was going to chase after Devastation. "She was not the objective," he shifted Black Spider on his shoulder. "We need to make sure Dr. Roquette is safe. We'll need to gather with the others."

Pele seemed to freeze, her face set into an angry grimace. Finally, sighing in disappointment, she nodded, and the group turned to leave.

Heatran walked to nudge Pele's hand. The goddess gave her Pokemon counterpart a nod. "Next time."

 **PYJ**

Kaldur sighed over the link. Yes. But Devastation ran away when I came with Slowbro and Jirachi. Apparently she got a message on the viruses success.

A mind even more powerful than Zapdos', maybe dozens of times more, pressed against us. The coward claimed she would fight me again one day. Pele thought towards us. I will be speaking with Wonder Woman. When next I meet Devastation, I will have her at my feet.

I was a bit surprised when Heatran's mental voice joined in agreement. What the hell did Devastation do to piss off my baby girl?

"Eh, four out of five is pretty good!" Kid Flash cheered. He finished tying up Blackbrair, turning to grin at Dr. Roquette. "Not bad for a bunch of 'kids', huh?"

Dr. Roquette shook her head. "Yeah. I mean, I only almost died about seven times."

I sighed. "Lady, we almost died too. We fought to keep you safe against guys that they usually call in the League to fight. The least you can do is just be happy you made it, as opposed to being a jerk. We're alive, and we've got the bad guys in custody." I shifted Cheshire on my shoulder as she began to wake up. "Come on. Let's regroup and get these guys in custody."

 **PYJ**

 _August 9th, 4:00 am_

"Cheshire, Blackbrair Thorn, Black Spider, and Hook," Batman said softly. Everyone stood in a circle around Batman, Red Tornado, and Green Arrow. "Three members of the League of Shadows, and one of the most powerful magicians in the world. Now, all in custody."

Batman didn't smile, but his lips did twitch as his eyes went across us, Robin giving him a wide grin. "Well done. With those four in custody, the Fog inert, and Dr. Roquette safe, we can call this mission a success on almost every level."

"Almost?" Superboy asked.

Batman nodded. "In the end, while they didn't succeed in attacking all their targets, they did manage to steal a massive amount of data. I'm having all the scientists at the destroyed STAR Labs in Philadelphia moved into stable jobs elsewhere, especially with a new corporation an ally has developed. But they did steal information."

"But don't let that stop you from celebrating," Green Arrow said proudly. "It's been a good night. Artemis?"

The blonde archer looked around at the team of Pokemon and people surrounding her. "Well, you guys are pretty much dealing with the sort of insane stuff I never imagined... so you probably need my help."

I grinned, walking over to place a hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad you had fun."

"Don't be too happy," she snarked, smiling up at me. "It probably means I'm insane."

"Sanity is an... unnecessary trait to becoming a hero." Kaldur joked quietly as he stood next to me. "Pele? How do you feel?"

Pele frowned slightly. "Hmm."

"Ah, come on babe!" Kid Flash said with a grin. Then his smooth playa smile became something more geniune. "It's pretty awesome to have another superstrong fighter around, and we did good work tonight," he seemed to struggle for a moment. M'gann nudged him with her elbow, and he sighed. "And I'll admit, it's nice to have an archer around again. So uh... thanks."

Artemis' eyebrow raised, and Pele finally nodded. As Robin said something about pigs flying and Kid Flash tried to flirt with Pele as Artemis watched in amusement at his failure to get a reaction that wasn't disgust, Kaldur and I walked to join Batman in another room.

Robin slipped in after us, and the door closed.

"The team we fought was too random," I said seriously. "Devastation is a powerful Wonder Woman baddie. Blackbrair Thorn wrestles with the Justice League sometimes. Yet, they both helped the League of Shadows."

"Legion of Doom?" Robin asked.

"You think the villains have already begun to join forces?" Kaldur added. "Like in the other universes."

I frowned. I'd already warned the three before me about the bad habit of super-villains to start making teams of their own to counter superheroes doing the same. "I'd assume so. But we need to keep our eyes open. While this seems big, Devastation and Blackbrair have both acted as for hire villains. This could be just more of the same."

"But we will prepare for the worst scenario," Batman said. "Combined with the other issues we've had to deal with, a conspiracy of supervillains gathering seems likely."

"Then they'll also start planning to counter all of us," I said firmly. "Way too many of these guys know about the Titans now. My Pokemon have a few surprises, but we all need to work on getting better, through training and equipment."

"New toys?" Robin asked, perking up into a wide grin.

"Indeed," Kaldur leaned back, arms crossed. "What do you have in mind?"

"We start scavenging," I looked over at Batman, and he didn't say a word. "We need tools, we need training. But we've had this discussion a million times before. We should have a list of possible items. Some are easy. Some are tough."

"Some are done," Batman took out two things from a pouch. One was a list. "John Henry Irons has completed your little side-project , and a variant of Potion has finally been created, with several berry trees growing success. And my tech people have finished reverse-engineering this."

The other item was a gun. Yeah, I know. The Batman, holding a gun? But it was more than that.

He handed it to me, and Kaldur and Robin watched as I held it carefully, making sure not to aim it anywhere but the floor or ceiling.

"With their recent incarceration, some of the weapons of Leonard Snart and Victor Fries were taken into custody. With the rest of their materials, my scientists finished the development of their guns."

I turned around and carefully aimed at a section of the wall. When I fired, the concrete was hit by something very like my Pokemon's Ice Beam attacks. I didn't shoot a lot, just a brief pull, but it was enough to put a thin layer of ice on the wall.

"Okay. We've got freeze guns," Robin said as I handed the gun to him, Robin treating it with the same respect any smart person does a normal gun. "What to do with them?"

"We have more than that," Batman said. "With Black Spider in custody, we also have his," he glanced at me. "'Web-shooters'. The chemical compound should be easy to make, and the actual shooters are made from simple materials."

"That will be useful," Kaldur said. Then he blinked, and smiled slightly. "Though I admit that is an understatement."

"Doh doh doh. Doh doh doh. Da da da da da da, da da da," I hummed the old Spider-Man theme song, ignoring the others confusion. "Okay, I'm going to take Artemis home. We're meeting her mom to share the good news."

 **PYJ**

"You did great tonight," I told Artemis as we left an out of order phone booth in Gotham together in a flash of light.

"Thanks," she said with a grin. "It was tough, but I really-"

We stopped, spinning around. I don't know what it was, but something told us we were being watched. Artemis aimed her arrow, and I activated my shock gloves, glaring at a dark shadow of a man.

"Step into the light," Artemis snarled.

"I'd listen to her." I said softly. "Because we'll both make you pay otherwise."

"Hm," the figure in the shadows stepped into the buzzing light of an old sign on the wall. Red Arrow looked us over neutrally. "Nice. You two actually move like you can fight."

"What do you want, Red Arrow?" I asked warily. Artemis relaxed slightly alongside me.

"To give you a warning." He stepped closer. Our similar heights made it easy for us to meet gazes. "I know about you. About how much information you somehow mysteriously gained on the identities of superheroes. Batman probably has his reasons for letting you on the team. But since you've joined with that band of monsters, you've brought in a goddess and the daughter of a super-villain," He looked over at Artemis, who glared at him. "I'm going to let Batman deal with you. But I'm also keeping an eye on you. So, I'm telling you now. Do **not** hurt my friends."

He turned, clearly satisfied. Then he spun around, his bow up and ready when he heard the 'pop' sounds that erupted.

When he'd turned around, my Pokemon surrounded me. Jirachi, Heatran, Chansey, Chesnaught, Zapdos, Slowbro, all facing Red Arrow alongside Artemis and me.

I glared at him. "Let me tell you something. We're the good guys, Roy. The ones fighting to save the world. Me, my team, Artemis, and Pele, are all going to help the Titans protect it. But if I was, hypothetically, going to kill the Titans... What in gods name could you do to stop me?"

The tension became as tight as the strings of Artemis and Red Arrow's bows. He eyed me, his arrow steadily aimed on my throat. Jirachi's eyes glowed white with a prepared attack. Chesnaught carefully stood behind me. Artemis narrowed her eyes.

"...Try me," Red Arrow stepped back into the shadows, fading away.

Master? Jirachi asked me. She floated in front of me.

"He's a good guy," I said with a small smile. "He's wrong... but he's not a bad person I think."

"He's an asshole," Artemis replied, placing her bow on her back. The second her arms were free, Jirachi looked over at her hopefully. Artemis smiled, holding her hands out, and Jirachi hopped into her arms. Holding Jirachi like an infant, Artemis looked over at me. "Come on. Mom will want to hear about Jade."

"Yeah..." As I turned to walk with her and my Pokemon, I thought of the future.

 **PYJ**

 **Author's Note:** So there's the chapter. I'll be working on the FSN omake as well, but hoepfully you guys liked the chapter.

For those who thought the fight between Red and Cheshire ended oddly, I'd like to note that a half-naked Cheshire stood up to a fully armored Red for a damn long time, and only lost thanks to his shock gloves.

Also, please update the TVTropes page, it could use some love


	34. Building a Bridge

_August 9_ _th_ _, Gotham, 12:37_

Paula Crook was a mother. And as a mother, she had a certain idea of how people should do things.

So when Artemis and I arrived at her door at around 5 in the morning, she didn't care that we were two bad ass superheroes, one a deadly assassin, the other the owner of a stable of legendary monsters. She looked up, frowned in disappointment, and declared that we were to go to sleep immediately.

I argued of course, but somehow, as I was about to explain quite reasonably that I wasn't tired and I needed to go to Mount Justice, I suddenly woke up on the couch feeling really refreshed.

And that was how I ended up joining Paula Crook as she did her Tai Chi with Artemis. The three of us moved through the smooth motions of the often underestimated martial art in the living room of the Crook home, the couch pushed back to give us room. Paula struggled through the motions a bit. Even the power Jirachi couldn't heal her to the point of perfection, but Paula was getting better, slowly but surely.

Paula slowly came to a stop, and Artemis and I did as well. My muscles burned slightly. Despite what you might think, Tai Chi is pretty rough on the muscles in terms of stretching. "I suppose I should be happy to hear that Jade is under arrest. But... it is saddening instead."

Artemis sighed. "I know, mom. Jade is safe though. We'll take care of her."

"As much as I can," I added. "She'll be headed to Blackgate. We'll get visitation rights worked out, but as the ones who caught her, I think I'll be able to visit her more freely."

"Why not me?" Artemis asked, sounding curious rather than pouting.

"...I'm apparently a bigger name than I thought," I grumbled slightly. "You're still an unknown, and that is something we need to preserve for the secrecy of the team. But I apparently have a ton of photos of me floating around online thanks to my work in New York."

I'd gotten too big, too fast basically. Aqualad, Speedy, Kid Flash, Robin, and now me. The five of us were technically high profile, what with our various adventures with our mentors. For me, I had the bad luck of choosing New York as my city to defend. Nobody can do anything in New York City without a thousand people having an opinion on it, and Wildcat being followed by a guy who has control of powerful monsters? Yeah, that got noticed.

Now if only my own personal Jameson type reporter would back the hell off...

"I can visit Jade and get her any messages you have," I said with a sigh.

"Thank you, Mahmoud," Paula said with a smile.

Artemis frowned for a moment before nodding. "Yeah... Thanks."

I nodded at her, before remembering something. "Oh hey, I'm headed to Star Labs today. Want to come?"

Artemis looked surprised before nodding. "Sure. Mom?"

"I suppose so," Paula frowned. "May I come as well?"

"Don't see why not," I shrugged. "Apparently they had some issue with the Berry planting, but hopefully it won't be too boring."

 **PYJ**

 _August 9_ _th_ _, Gotham, STARLabs, 2:21 pm_

The three of us stood next to a woman named Dr. Tina Mcgee, a nutritionist who was helping study the berries I'd brought. We were in a small observation room looking out into a a greenhouse with hundreds of trays of dirt resting on tables.

A greenhouse filled with fully grown bushes full of colorful berries. Two men and a woman went from plant to plant, doing science type things I couldn't understand, while others had samples of the bark, leaves, and berries resting on tables nearby to be examined.

"It's unprecedented," Dr. Mcgee said as we watched them work. "We've only been growing them a short time, and we're already running out of room. At this rate, we'll need to start freezing them to preserve them.

I nodded slowly as another scientist rolled a massive cart filled with Oran and Sitrus Berries past. "And you say none of the bushes have died?"

"None," Dr. Mcgee said with a firm nod. "They just keep growing them. Our security rep keeps having us check if Poison Ivy or some other metahuman is around, but we can only conclude that these plants are made to produce massive amounts of their fruit, possible to survive in a harsh environment."

She didn't know the half of it. Still, this was insanely fast. The berries were a confusing thing in general for me. In the games, the berries were a one off. Plant a berry, get two or three, plant another one, and at ridiculous speeds. Not like our world, where you could somewhat count on a healthy berry bush consistently giving berries for years.

But these guys were some sort of fusion. I could see something like twenty sitrus berries one a nearby tree that were ripe, and several flowers indicating more already on the way. The large numbers and life span of a normal berry bush, and the speed and magical powers of a Pokemon bush.

Then again, everything about me broke the rules in some way so far. I was a Pokemon trainer whose Pokemon could use more than four moves, fought in combat alongside them, and used Pokemon training gear on my own body, three things that were never or rarely seen in the Pokemon series.

"This is a good thing, right?" Paula asked. She was wearing a simple white blouse and blue jeans, and looked at the going on in curiosity.

Dr. Mcgee hesitated. "Well... usually, I would say yes. But none of the berries we have are approved by the FDA, and all the potions we've been making are just being tested. We're going to need to slow down production soon. And there's another problem-"

"Berries have disappeared," I cut her off.

Dr. Mcgee's eyes widened in surprise. "Um... yes. A shipment of ones we were sending to Keystone to be researched by our labs there disappeared. The drivers were found in a bathroom, tied up."

I nodded, and Artemis narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms. She didn't speak, since as far as Dr. Mcgee knew, Artemis was just a friend of a guy who was brought in to consult on a newfound set of alien berries he'd found. Still, I could tell the question Artemis wanted to ask. Paula, on the other hand, was a sphinx, the older assassin better at hiding her feelings.

"It was the decoy shipment," I said simply. Artemis and Mcgee blinked in unison. "I had suspicions people would want to steal these berries and the potions made by them. So I had a shipment of Razz, Bluk, Pomeg, Qualot, and Hondew berries sent. Those are all useless to our project, outside of flavor."

"But... But why?" The young doctor asked.

I didn't answer her, instead turning and walking out. As soon as we were in the blank halls of STARLabs, I took out my phone and sent a text through encryption. Artemis and Paula walked on my left and right, both just a step behind as their eyes panned around us steadily.

 _Bring Da Ruckus,_ I typed and sent to Batman. The code based on music unheard in this universe brought the song to my mind. With two badass assassins following behind me like bodyguards, and badass rap in my mind, I exited STARLabs.

As soon as we were out, Artemis spoke. "You think people want to make their own potions?"

"I think that berries that have a proven ability to heal and strengthen multiple species, may be key ingredients in a lot of my Pokemon enhancing gear, and can be grown at a massively quick pace, will have a hell of a resale value for a lot of bad guys," I said, frowning. "Don't get me wrong, I know my healing and enhancing potions will eventually hit the mass audience. A hell of a lot of pharmaceutical companies are going to fight it of course. Potion alone can instantly heal everything from small cuts to muscle pain to headaches with 100 percent success. Cancer is a little harder to figure out, but a lot of what berries and potions can cure basically makes modern medicine look a little useless," I sighed. "Don't get me wrong, doctors will still be useful and needed but-" I looked over at the mother and daughter pair, realizing I'd gone on a tangent. "Anyways, the point is I already knew people would be ready and willing to steal this stuff. So instead of stopping it, I let it work for me."

"Clever," Paula said softly. "But what will you do when you find out who stole this shipment?"

I didn't answer.

 _August 10_ _th_ _,New York City, Manhattan, 7:14 am_

The next day, I had other issues.

I grunted with effort as I carried my end of the sofa I was carting into the center of a living room. It took a bit of effort, but muscles trained from long hours in the gym helped me persevere. Soon I put it down, and smiled.

Soon I was leading the guy who'd helped me to the door.

"Well, that should be it," A man in simple clothes, a balding head, and big biceps told me as we stood in the doorway of the large apartment. His accent wasn't strong, but it had a hint of the roughness I was used to from the meaner parts of New York Wildcat and I ran around."Got to say, you didn't have as much stuff as I'm used to for guys who live in this part of town."

I smiled a bit at that. "Well, I'm not used to being able to afford this kind of place. My last place was shoebox compared to to this."

The man, who'd seemed a bit standoffish the whole time, smiled at that. "That so?"

I nodded a bit self-consciously. "Yeah. Living in a place this big is a bit daunting really."

The mover and I looked back at the room.

It was big. The place had recently been remodeled, so hardwood floors, marble, and massive glass windows all gleamed brightly. My stuff looked positively lonely in there. A single tv and sofa in the living room, a bed in my room, and some boxes holding pots, pans, and other essentials.

"Eh, you'll grow into it," The large man patted me on the shoulder. "Stay safe, kid."

"Thanks," I reached into my pocket and pulled out my wallet. "Here. I pretty much owe for all the help," I handed him a tip of two hundred, and got a shocked look from the guy. He quickly turned and walked away, as though I was going to ask for it back.

As he walked away, he passed a massive tank of a man, who stepped aside politely before walking towards me. I smiled at him, and Ted 'Wildcat' Grant smiled back.

Ted was wearing a black hoodie over a shirt with a panther design on it, and some black jeans. I realized as he came closer that I was wearing a red hoodie and my own jeans. Without even meaning to, we were both wearing civilian versions of our costumes. Funny that.

"All packed in?" He asked as he walked up.

"We'll find out soon enough," I beckoned him inside. My mentor went in, and I closed the door after him.

As soon as I was sure the door was locked, I turned to the living room, remembering my instructions. "Trainer Red, online."

The windows darkened. The island table in the kitchen rose up and shifted around, turning into a large stand where my costume rested along with my gear and an empty mannequin. A large holo-screen floated before us. Another section of the building slid to turn into a garage, while the couch slid aside to reveal a small worktable with tools neatly stacked, along with some forensic equipment.

"Where does Bruce get all these amazing toys?" Ted asked gently.

"He's only got one superpower, but it's versatile as hell," I joked.

Ted laughed. He turned to look at me. "So, what's next?"

I shrugged, my right hand running along the pokeballs set along my waist. "For now, I don't think we have any missions. I've spoken with Wonder Woman about using her Themyscira Embassy offices here in New York as a gathering place for the various gods and spirits that will show up, but that is still getting set up. I'm all done with the notes I've been writing for Batman. My plans with STARLabs are still getting set up. The Team is training with their mentors... I don't have anything to do."

I felt a bit lost. It felt like recently I'd been running from weirdness to weirdness, with little to no time to think, and no sleep. And now? Nothing. I had free time, and nothing to do with it.

"Maybe we should train?" I asked Ted. "Or I can finally play some video games again. Maybe patrol? I..."

"Kid," Ted patted me on my shoulder. "How about you and I go grab some coffee, and you tell me about your last mission."

I frowned, but finally nodded.

 **PYJ**

A while later, we were sitting in a cafe, in the corner where we couldn't be heard. I described my fight against Cheshire, making sure to word it like a spar in case others listened in.

"So I don't feel like it was a real win," I wrapped my hands around the warm cup of coffee in my hand. "I mean, I know why I won, Ted. I had better equipment than her," I whispered the next part. "I had armor and electric taser gauntlets, she had bra and panties," Ted raised an eyebrow at that. "I mean... it didn't feel right. I know I shouldn't feel that way. A win is a win, but-"

"But you're a boxer," Ted said. He sipped his coffee. I didn't reply, waiting for him to finish speaking. He finished his sip, sighing in satisfaction as steam rose from his cup. Someone in the cafe laughed. Outside, cars lumbered through traffic as people walked along the sidewalk. "It's something I had to get used to in the day. Even though I didn't have the weapons and skills Alan and Jay did, I still had advantages others didn't. Bruce doesn't mind it, he was taught to look for every advantage he could. And I never feel that way when someone brings a planet-cracker to a fist fight. But as a boxer, I don't like feeling like I have to reach for a gun. I'm supposed to be strong enough not to need it."

He sighed. "But that kind of thinking will get you killed. Cheshire, according to what you told me, has been fighting for decades. You won. Take the win, and keep taking them. Just win. Don't hurt civilians, don't kill unless you have no other choice, but otherwise, don't feel like it's cheating to win just because you have better training, equipment, or friends... Now tell me. What is really bothering you? Because you haven't stopped touching your pokeballs since your apartment."

Surprised, I looked down at my hand, which was touching Chesnaught's simple red and white ball.

"Oh..." I took my hand away. "I... Maybe my problem with Cheshire is a symptom of something else?"

"And what would that be?" My gruff mentor asked.

I thought about that quietly. What was the issue? Was it just my fight? No, that was something I'd had issues with, but something deeper was going on. Something I'd been feeling for months. Something to do with my Pokemon.

"...I don't feel like a Pokemon Trainer."

Wildcat blinked. "What? I thought you were one."

"I..." I didn't know how to explain it to Ted, who had no real understanding of Pokemon, but I knew why I felt so off now.

I wasn't a real trainer. I'd never beaten another Pokemon trainer in battle. I wasn't a Champion, or a Master. And until I fought another Pokemon trainer in true battle, six on six with four moves, I'd never feel like I was. I was a superhero now. But for some reason, I also needed to be a trainer as well. No, more. I _needed_ to be a Pokemon Champion, to feel truly worthy of the power I had at my waist and the badges in my bag.

But how? How could I do it?

And then, as Wildcat watched me, the idea came to me. A dangerous, wonderful idea, involving a cute, feathery dragon.

"Hey," Wildcat said after a moment. "You haven't been sleeping, right?" When I looked startled, he smiled gruffly. "Bruce gave me something to help with that. Had to slip it into your cup."

As I gave him a betrayed look and saw my vision peacefully go to black, Ted chuckled. "Sleep kid. Rest. Do whatever hairbrained schemes you're thinking of later."

 **PYJ**

 _August 11_ _th_ _, Metropolis, 8:18am_

After a long nap and a flight on Latias, I stood under a bridge in Metropolis, grumbling about overbearing mentors to myself. Latias floated next to me, giggling softly in my mind at my annoyed demeanor.

The area we stood in was a section of freeway far away from the actual city, in the outskirts. The place was actually empty of people, which was odd to me. Even the _outskirts_ of most giant cities I knew about were always full of people.

You sure this is where your scientist friend wanted to meet? I asked Latias. She nodded even as she continued to check telepathically for anyone coming close.

Yes. He said his labs weren't secure enough for a conversation.

I felt my lips curl into my closest approximation of Batman's frown. This was just way too suspicious.

We were out there to meet someone Latias had spoken about a few times. She was constantly working on a way to open a portal to the Pokemon universe, a project I'd been worried about at first. After all, I didn't want Latias innocently opening a portal to the Crime Syndicate universe or some place where Batman and Joker combined or something. Or hell, even the Marvel Universe would end in some chaos. Not to mention the dozens of universe where Pokemon existed, from Ash's universe, the main games, the Adventure series, and so on.

The point was that dimensional travel was always dangerous. Still, Latias had promised to only work on calculations for now with the guidance of textbooks and scientists. Which in itself was surprising, realizing that Latias was a genius. But then, I'd trained to be Latias to be a Clever Contest winner in the games, and a lot of Psychic and Legendary Pokemon were known to be incredibly intelligent.

Still, as we stood/floated there, I began to feel nervous. I took a moment to thank god that I'd come in my Trainer Red armor, as opposed to coming as Mahmoud instead.

Ah! Latias suddenly said. He's here!

I looked in the direction Latias was waving at excitedly. My blood froze.

"...Is he coming in that car?"

Yes!

The car rolled up as I stared at it. "The limo with a tasteful Lexcorp flag?"

...Yes?

I ignored the hesitance in her voice as she realized my fear and anger. Latias, I said to her in our minds. Hit the skies. You see any drones, kill them, I reached to my side and grabbed my comm unit, tossing it to her. If or when I die, send a message to Batman describing everything. And move quick. If a laser comes down on top of us, I want you to avoid it.

L-laser? She asked, catching my comm unit.

It's something he's known to do, now go! My telepathic voice carried a hint of my anger, and Latias flinched. We'll talk about your phone and internet privileges later.

Scared and sad, Latias zoomed upwards. I reached into my bag and took out two hyper and max potions as the car rolled up, placing them in my bag for easy reach, made sure my shock gloves were working, then grabbed Chesnaught and Jirachi's pokeballs in my right hand.

The limousine rolled to a stop. The engine cut off. The driver got out and we shared a look for a moment.

She had light brown hair, and brown eyes. She wore a business suit with a red tie and a short skirt, as well as short heeled shoes, all of it made of expensive materials. And her eyes were narrowed at me as I stood in a loose stance.

"...Mercy." I said, taking a shot in the dark.

Her eyes narrowed further. I didn't say anything else. She was a fighter, and so was I. We may not have known each others styles or methods, but the implied threat was there. 'Not yet... but maybe soon.'

She turned away from me, walking towards the back door of the limo. She opened it.

Lex Luthor stepped out of the limo, and strode towards me. Tall, with a simple strength I could see beneath the crisp suit. He was bald, like his counterparts in other universes. His eyes were green, piercing. He had a slight smile on his face. Not a smirk, but something close.

The man walked up to me. He had nothing but a suit on. I had a stable of powerful monsters, armored electric gauntlets, and healing potions.

I took a deep breath as he came closer, pushing down my fear. Lex Luthor was the guy who could hold off even the most powerful iterations of Superman off with nothing but a couple words. I needed to stay calm.

He came to a stop in front of me, Mercy just a step behind him.

"Well. I have to say, I was waiting for this meeting," his eyes flickered upwards. "Latias won't be joining us?"

"...I don't know yet," I said honestly. "It depends."

"On if I'm here to kill you?" Luthor asked with a small smile.

The two of us looked each other in the eyes. And I made my decision.


	35. The Man Who Is Smarter

"You know why I came here," I said softly. "But the fact that you're Latias' study buddy changes things significantly."

I leaned back against the limo holding a cup with some water inside, having refused Luthor's generous offer of alchohol. I didn't waste time trying to seem brave or defiant, simply looking at him as I sipped my water. Next to me, Chesnaught glared down at Mercy. Mercy glared right back up at him.

I took a moment to hope that this version wasn't a rogue Amazon like in some universes, otherwise Chesnaught would be a lot less useful in a fight.

"I don't see why," Luthor said with a slight twitch of his lips. "After all, she told me you were looking for a way to your universe. So am I. Why don't we work together?"

"Because I'm coming into this with a certain view of you," I sipped at my water. "I may not know _you_ personally, but there is a wide multiverse out there. A lot of Lex Luthors, both good and evil. You have the resources, and unless things have gone completely wrong, you have the smarts to figure out how to travel between universes," I looked him over, and his bright eyes crinkled a bit in a smile. "But any help I give you with traveling to the Pokemon universe would be followed by a lot of danger for the people of my 'home' universe."

"Do you truly believe I want to travel there to hurt anyone?" Lex Luthor asked.

"No," I admitted. "But anyone who has seen me, my team, and my items can see how valuable the Pokemon universe is. A world full of meta-animals capable to fighting with this worlds most powerful, all tamable by normal humans like me? It's way too valuable."

"And yet, I would argue that is _why_ you should work with me," Luthor said, waving one of his hands as he paced briefly. "Think about it. With you helping, I'll have someone watching my every move. You can guide my people through the world of Pokemon, tell us where to go, who to negotiate with. More than that, you also have knowledge and ability with fighting any threats we may face. If I do anything you disapprove of, well, you'll be right there to stop me," He stopped pacing, turning to smirk at me. "On the other hand... if you don't join me, I'll simply continue on my own. I have the calculations Latias already shared with me, as well as resources to technology that will let me travel the multiverse already being built. Of course, this endeavor is more dangerous without help... for both our worlds."

Chesnaught and I narrowed our eyes at him. Luthor smirked a bit more at our anger.

"You'd have a lot more problems than you think if you try to pierce through the Bleed without my help," I warned him. "Ignoring the Pokemon universe, there are darker ones than that. Universes where evil, actual, vindictive and horrific evil, exist. Places where murder, rape, and torture are the norm of interaction."

Luthor smiled. "Then I suppose I'd have to be careful."

"...I'm going to talk to my benefactors. I need to decide on what I want to do next."

"Please do," Luthor said. "I'm sure your decision in any case will be interesting."

I rose up from my seat against his car and extended a hand out. Mercy seemed to teleport in front of Luthor, her gaze protective, but he gently pressed her aside and stepped forward to take my hand. "Regardless of how I decide, it's been nice to finally meet you Mr. Luthor," I admitted reluctantly.

"Likewise. And please," his smile was wide as he stepped back into his limo. "Call me Lex. And if you need me, Latias knows my personal email," he smirked. "Don't take too long.

 **PYJ**

 _August 11_ _th_ _, Maimi, Florida, 11:00 am_

I'm sorry, Master Latias said softly as we floated high above the city of Maimi's beaches. I sat on her back as the warm sun beat on us, the two of us watching beachgoers enjoy the water.

"It's not your fault," I admitted. "I should have warned you. But I suppose I didn't think Lex fucking Luthor would show up out of the blue and offer you help with math," I sighed. "Just, be more careful on the internet. But your intelligence to work defending yourself online as well as on your project, okay?"

Yes, Master

"Now... Lex Luthor is trying to find a way to the Pokemon universe..." I tapped my fingers on my arm thoughtfully. "We can't let him get there, or at the least not first. The Pokemon universe lies in a perfect zone for him. It's both civilized enough that Luthor won't get torn apart like if he got to the Warhammer 40K universe, and yet has enough useful tech and possible manpower that he can use that is easily accessible due to the Pokemon universe lack of a true government, at least a government in the way this world understands them," I scoffed. "Hell, the fact evil organizations are able to so easily establish bases in every town says enough there."

It's the same in this universe, Latias grumbled in annoyance. I had to agree. It's apparently true in any universe with superpowers that making a evil base is just a matter of capitol.

"Regardless, the fact is Luthor running around in Pokemon is bad news no matter what," My comm unit began to blink, and I adjusted my seat on Latias. "Come on. We need to talk to him."

 **PYJ**

 _August 11_ _th_ _, Happy Harbor, Mount Justice, 1:37 pm_

I stood in the massive room Heatran had created across from the other men. We were around the small Oasis the Team and my Pokemon had created, our boots digging into the sand. I finished telling them what had happened, and simply watched them as Latias floated far behind me.

Batman didn't speak afterwards. Superman stood next to him, frowning in worry. When Batman didn't speak, Superman looked over at him.

"What are you thinking?" He asked.

"Luthor knew too much about Trainer Red," Batman immediately said. "Even if he was getting some of his information from Latias, there were too many specifics."

"A leak on the team?" I asked. "We had Superboy checked for any listening or spying devices implanted on him, right?"

"Yes, with regular checks in the form of physicals in case he can somehow be induced to 'grow' them as new organs." Batman replied. Superman blinked at that as Batman shook his head. "It's possible Luthor has some other way to access the information."

"Than we should treat all the info I've given you as though it's compromised," I said sadly.

"Agreed. All our files on Pokemon have thankfully not been uploaded to my computer, and I only have physical versions, but it's possible he wants them." Batman said simply. "Keep any information about the Pokemon universe need to know from here out."

"What about Luthor himself?" Superman asked, looking over at me. "We can't trust him. He'll go to your world and try to take anything he thinks is useful."

"We have an opening there," Batman suggested oddly.

Superman's eyes widened. "Bruce, you can't be serious!"

Batman nodded. "Luthor wants to bring in Red. If Red is there, he can monitor Luthor. Maybe even find something to incriminate him. And if Luthor does get there, Red can let us know as well as prepare the proper authorities when they get there."

"If we land on the right continent maybe," I grumbled. "The Pokemon World is massive guys. I know my way around maybe six of the locations, and that's a small number of them," I sighed. "Still, every continent has a group of strong Pokemon Trainers called the Elite Four led by a Champion, or at least an equivalent. If I can find them, I should be able to get them to have Luthor back down... I guess."

"It's too risky!" Superman declared.

"So is leaving Luthor," Batman said quietly. "If we give him time, he could end up with an army of Pokemon capable of fighting even you in hand to hand combat. We need to watch him somehow."

"We have a few days to plan it out for now," I grumbled. "Sorry guys. Seems like I'm bringing a lot of issues."

Superman shook his head and smiled kindly. "Well, maybe a few. But I can't imagine we wouldn't have a few of these problems anyways."

"In the meantime," Batman said softly. "I'll see about getting Waynetech involved in this project as well. The Berry and Potion project is already going well, I can start our own work on the Pokemon Portal project. Have Latias send me all of her work. And talk to her about her internet usage, immediately."

"Yes, sir," I said sadly at the disappointed look on his face.

 **PYJ**

As Batman and Superman continued to talk in Heatran's additions, I left to go to my room in the caves. Of course, I was waylaid on my way there by the members of the team that now lived in the cave.

So I found myself sitting in my room with Superboy, M'gann, Kaldur, and Pele.

"Lex Luthor," Superboy said softly once I'd finished explaining the situation. He was leaning on the wall beneath a Wonder Woman poster I'd placed to make the place brighter. I looked over at him. I hadn't yet approached him about the possibility of Luthor being his father, something I knew was true in several universes and as such a possibility in this universe. He didn't know about my suspicions, but he clearly knew about the rivalry between the S-Shield's and Luthor.

"It seems you've found even more trouble, Mahmoud," Kaldur said from his seat on my computer chair.

"Yeah, lucky me," I said softly. "I guess I know how you guys feel. Seems like the bad guys are seeing me as both a threat and a possible resource."

"Is this Luthor such a threat?" Pele asked. She was dressed in her usual loincloth and wrap top, sitting on the floor cross-legged. I tried to ignore how much of her long legs were on display when she did that.

"Depends on the Luthor," I said with a sigh. "Lex Luthor is always dangerous though. He's smart. Scary smart. There are universe's where he's killed the entire Justice League. Justice League with more experience and power than our versions."

M'gann shuddered next to me on my bed where we sat facing the others. "Uncle J'onn..."

"That said, he's also a savior in some universes," I added. "But yeah, he isn't to be underestimated. Lex Luthor is a dangerous opponent with nothing more than his intellect and ruthlessness. It's one more on the pile of stuff I've got going on."

" _We've,_ got going on," Kaldur said. "You aren't in this alone. I'm certain your Pokemon and the others would agree. Whatever is coming, we will face it together."

I blinked at Kaldur. A hand rested on my shoulder, and I turned to see M'gann smiling at me reassuringly. I felt myself warm inside at the show of support. Superboy stepped forward and he hesitantly patted me on the back.

"Anyways,"I finally said, trying not to show how choked up I was. "That's all a later problem for now. In the meantime, Superman and Batman told me that your father is going to be one of the God's to join the League," I told Pele.

She nodded, fierce pride in her eyes. "Indeed! He'll be an excellent edition."

"Who else?" Superboy asked.

"Well, they wanted to stick with five members for now," I told him. "So we have Kane-milo-hai first. Second is Thor, God of Thunder in Norse Myth. Diana, the Goddess of Hunters in Roman Myth. Hephaestus, God of Smiths in Greek Myth. And last but not least, Isis, Goddess of Magic in Egyptian Myth."

I shrugged. "I know there are other to come, but they're looking into inviting other heroes onto the team as well. However, I think the current deities they've chosen are a good mix. Hephaestus and Isis will be good for support, Thor and Kane will be strong heavy hitters, and Diana's skill in stealth will be valuable. Not to mention they made sure to keep a mixture of the pantheons, so that way they don't end up alienating other pantheons. I think they'll be adding some Hindu ones soon, since the Hindu gods have a lot of power due to the fact they still have a lot of worshippers."

"I hate them," Pele pouted. "Always so arrogant because they still have followers..." She crossed her arms with a huff. "Kali is the worst of them."

We all had to take a moment. The idea of the Pantheons having pissing contests over who was most worshiped was both hilarious and strange. I dismissed the thought of a multiple armed giant and Pele arguing with each other to focus.

"I guess in the meantime we should do some training or something?" I asked hesitantly.

"I believe that we've all had enough of work for now," Kaldur said gently. "I've heard that Superboy and Pele have yet to watch some of the surface worlds entertainment. How about we take a day off to watch together?"

M'gann perked up. "Oh, I'll get the popcorn!"

As she got up and walked out with Kaldur, I shared a glance with Superboy and Pele, who looked as thrown as I was by the sudden change in topic. "So uh... any preference for what you guys want to watch?"

"Not really," Superboy said with a shrug.

"I have a particular love for romance and drama," Pele said earnestly.

Huh. Well that threw me. I guess you can't judge books and all that.

A sudden thought filled me. I'd been thinking of a certain cartoon series ever since meeting Lex Luthor. Hell, why not introduce the pair to some quality entertainment, right? Besides, the cartoon had to hit some points for Superboy and Pele right?

Feeling like I was somehow doing something very ironic as I reached to release my Pokemon and let them join in the fun, I spoke. "You guys ever hear of 'Gargoyles'?"


End file.
